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UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


A  STUDY  IN  STATISTICS 


JAMES  HERBERT  BOSSARD 


A  THESIS 

PRKSENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE  GKADUATE  SCHOOL  IN 

PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR 

THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


PHILADELPHIA: 

1918 


EXCHANGE 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2007  with  funding  from 
IVIicrosoft  Corporation    ^ 


http://www.archive.org/details/churchesofallentOObossrich 


UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


A  STUDY  IN  STATISTICS 


BY 

JAMES  HERBERT  BOSSARD 

'I 


A  THESIS 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  IN 

PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR 

THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


ALLENTOWN,  FA. 

JACKS,  THE  PRINTER 
1918 
3 


"  ».*-  *""■'  .  -    -''■"   '' 


\^!^j>iVi?,Jj4% 


To 


MY  FATHER  AND  MOTHER 


381376 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Page 

I     ALLENTOWN :  THE  CITY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 7 

II     THE  IDENOMINATIONAL  BACKGROUND  OP  THE  CITY.  31 

III  A  STUDY  OF  THE  CHURCH  MEMBERSHIP  OF  ALLEN- 

TOWN  IN  1917   58 

IV  THE    MOVEMENT   OF    CHURCH    MEMBERSHIP    SINCE 

1890   70 

V  CHURCH  ATTENDANCE  IN  ALLENTOWN 80 

VI  SUBSTITUTES  FOR  CHURCH  GOING 87 

VII     OTHER    ASPECTS    OF    SOCIAL    CONTROL    IN    ALLEN- 
TOWN      100 


CHAPTER!. 

ALLENTOWN:     THE  CITY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE. 

In  the  extreme  eastern  portion  of  the  state  of  Penn- 
sylvania, almost  midway  between  the  northern  and  south- 
ern boundaries  of  the  state,  lies  the  city  of  Allentown.  It 
is  situated  on  the  western  side  of  the  Lehigh  River  at  the 
confluence  of  the  Lehigh,  Little  Lehigh  and  Jordan  Riv- 
ers, and  some  eighteen  miles  southwest  from  where  the 
Lehigh  flows  into  the  Delaware,  at  Easton,  Penna.  It 
lies  90  miles  west  of  New  York  City,  and  about  60  miles 
north  of  Philadelphia.  It  is  known  as  the  ^^  Queen  City 
of  the  Lehigh  Valley,  ^^  being  located  in  the  heart  of  the 
general  section  of  eastern  Pennsylvania  known  by  that 
name,  and  claims  to  be  its  commercial  and  industrial 
metropolis. 

A  Brief  Historical  Survey. 

Judged  by  the  standard  of  American  municipal  lon- 
gevity, Allentown  is  an  old  city.  It  was  laid  out  in  1762 
at  the  direction  of  Chief  Justice  William  Allen,  who  then 
owned  all  of  the  land  dow  covered  by  the  city.  The  name 
Northampton  was  given  to  the  village,  which,  at  the  end 
of  the  first  year,  embraced  13  families.  Its  growth,  like 
that  of  most  colonial  villages,  was  slow.  At  the  outbreak 
of  the  Revolution,  there  were  54  families  residing  within 
its  confines.  The  first  federal  census  in  1790  revealed  a 
population  of  486.  The  United  States  Gazetteer,  in  1795, 
describes  Allentown  in  the  following  words:  '*A  hand- 
some and  flourishing  town  pleasantly  situated  on  the 
point  of  land  which  is  formed  by  the  junction  of  Jordan 
Creek  and  the  Little  Lehigh.  It  is  regularly  laid  out,  and 
contains  about  ninety  dwellings,  a  German  Lutheran  and 
Calvinist  church,  an  academy,  and  three  merchant  mills. ' ' 
By  1810,  the  population  had  increased  to  710,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year,  the  town  was  incorporated  as  a  borough. 
The  name  Northampton  was  retained  until  1838  when  it 
was  changed  to  Allentown  in  honor  of  the  founder  of 
the  city. 


d  ^)ie  Churches  of  Atlentown 

The  first  half  of  the  19th  century  was  a  period  of  in- 
tense interest  in  transportation,  of  internal  improvements 
and  of  intellectual  development,  all  over  the  United 
States.  Allentown  shared,  in  its  own  small  way,  in  these 
movements  of  the  age.  Between  1812  and  1837,  a  half 
dozen  stage  coaches  served  as  connecting  links  between 
Allentown  and  such  places  as  Philadelphia,  Easton,  Read- 
ing, Wilkes-Barre  and  other  distant  places.  Two  trans- 
portation companies  did  business  in  the  little  town. 
Warehouses  were  located  at  the  river  front  at  which  the 
canal  boats,  coming  down  the  canal  which  the  Lehigh 
Coal  and  Navigation  Company  had  completed  as  far  as 
Easton  by  1838,  stopped  to  unload  their  wares.  By  the 
end  of  the  first  half  of  the  19th  century,  five  fire  com- 
panies had  been  organized.  In  1827,  the  Northampton 
Water  Company  was  established  and  pumping  works 
were  speedily  erected  and  a  reservoir  constructed. 
Bridges  were  built  to  span  the  neighboring  rivers  and 
creeks.  A  bank  was  opened  in  1814  and  this  enjoyed  a 
successful  and  prosperous  career  for  a  time,  failing  how- 
ever in  1842.  Streets  and  alleys  were  ordered  surveyed 
in  1812  and  **  regulated,  and  laid  out  according  to  the 
original  plan,'^  and  all  articles  deemed  public  nuisances 
were  to  be  removed.  Six  local  newspapers  sprang  up 
during  this  period  to  enlighten  the  borough  citizenship. 
An  English  school  was  opened  on  South  Seventh  street 
in  1813.  A  school  for  girls  was  opened  in  the  same  year, 
and  from  1813  to  1845,  night  schools  were  kept  by  vari- 
ous teachers.  Other  schools  were  opened  and  the  public 
school  movement  grew  in  keeping  with  its  general  de- 
velopment throughout  the  state.  ^ 

Population  during  this  fifty  year  period  grew  slowly 
but  steadily.  From  710  in  1810,  it  climbed  to  1,757  in 
1830  and  the  middle  of  the  century  saw  it  reach  3,703. 
Near  the  close  of  the  third  decade  of  the  century,  Anne 
Royall,  a  writer,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  visited  the  town 
and  spoke  of  it  as  follows:  ^'Allentown  is  a  handsome 
town  on  the  Lehigh.  It  stands  upon  an  elevated  site,  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  by  a  vale.  This,  again,  is  surrounded 
by  mountains  and  hills,  forming  a  romantic  and  pictur- 
esque appearance.    It  appears  to  be  a  flourishing  town 

1  Summarized  from  "Anniversary    History    of    Lehigh     County," 
Vol.  1. 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


and  does  much  business. '^  ^  rpj^ig  perhaps  is  the  most 
fitting  summary  to  make  of  the  town's  development  dur- 
ing this  first  half  of  the  19th  century.  It  was  picturesque, 
it  was  flourishing,  it  did  business,  it  grew,  giving  full 
promise  that  it  refused  to  remain  a  straggling  village. 

The  decade  1850  to  1860  was  one  of  unusual  growth. 
The  population  jumped  from  3,703  to  8,025.  Two  of  the 
main  factors  responsible  for  this  gi^owth  were  the  open- 
ing up  of  the  Lehigh  Valley  and  East  Pennsylvania  rail- 
roads, and  the  establishment  of  the  iron  works  of  the 
Allentown  Iron  Company.  The  railroads  especially  ad- 
vanced the  material  interests  of  the  town.  By  the  end 
of  the  decade,  there  were  57  manufactories  in  Allentown: 
2  foundry  and  machine  shops,  7  agricultural  implement 
manufacturers,  6  establishments  connected  in  some  way 
with  iron  and  steel  industry,  5  grist  mills,  6  breweries  or 
distilleries,  8  brick  yards,  5  carriage  manufacturers  and 
18  other  manufacturing  projects  scattered  over  an  ex- 
tended field.  ^  The  Allentown  Democrat,  describing  the 
various  aspects  of  this  growth,  said  in  1859 : 

"There  have  been  so  many  changes,  physically  and  socially  in  Al- 
lentown, as  a  town,  within  a  few  years  past,  that  a  former  resident, 
who  returns  to  it  after  a  short  absence,  can  scarcely  recognize  the 
place  or  its  people.  Quite  recently  one  of  this  class  remarked  to  us: 
'I  came  here  to  spend  some  time  amid  the  scenery  and  acquaintances 
of  former  days,  but  I  am  hardly  able  to  discover  a  vestige  of  that 
scenery,  or  to  find  an  acquaintance  once  in  an  hour.  Everything  has 
changed.'  And  that  man  had  been  absent  but  about  seven  years.  By 
the  census  of  1850,  the  population  of  Allentown  was  3,703.  ♦  *  Now 
our  population  is  estimated  at  10,000,  and  the  original  borough  plat 
has  increased  in  area  east  and  west,  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  In 
building  operations  we  have  progressed  remarkably — In  1855,  108 
buildings  were  erected;  in  1856,  138;  in  1857,  169;  in  1858,  62,  mak- 
ing a  total  of  467  buildings  in  four  years.  Handsome  three  and  four 
story  brick  and  iron  front  edifices  cover  the  site  of  many  an  old 
weatherboard  shell  of  his  day:  stores  of  a  hundred  feet  in  depth  have 
succeeded  the  pent-up  dingy  shops  his  eyes  were  accustomed  to  look 
upon;  and  the  din  of  busy  life  prevails  everywhere  in  lieu  of  the 
sweet  calm  then  so  grateful  to  him  in  taking  his  after  dinner  nap. 
If  he  should  go  to  where  he  considered  himself  'in  the  country,'  plan- 
ing mills,  grist-mills,  saw-mills,  machine  shops,  foundries  and  fur- 
naces, depots,  with  long  trains  of  cars  stretching  either  way,  and 
dwellings  innumerable  would  greet  his  eyes,  and  the  noise  of  railway 
trains  astir  his  ears.  At  the  dawn  of  the  year  1855,  Allentown  had 
no  railway  outlet,  now  it  has  two — the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  con- 
necting us  with  the  principal  emporiums  of  the  Union,  while  the  East 
Pennsylvania  road  links  us  with  the  far  West  and  South  by  the  short- 
est route  in  existence.     Besides  these,  we  have  the  Allentown  and 


2  Ibid.,  p.  445. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  443.   (Summarized.) 


10 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


Auburn  road  in  process  of  construction.  Stage  coaches  are  almost 
among  the  things  past — a  few  months  more  will  put  them  entirely  so. 
Instead  of  consuming  twelve  and  fifteen  hours  in  travelling  to  Phila- 
delphia, we  now  go  there,  spend  about  three  hours,  and  return  to  our 
homes,  all  between  the  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun." 

In  1867,  Allentown  was  incorporated  as  a  city.  It 
then  had  an  area  of  3.14  square  miles,  or  2,011.27  acres. 
Three  years  afterwards,  the  census  of  1870  revealed  a 
population  of  13,884. 

In  the  seventh  decade  of  the  last  century,  with  the 
date  of  incorporation  as  the  best  arbitrary  point  of  de- 
parture, there  began  in  Allentown  that  epoch  of  numeri- 
cal growth,  of  industrial  development,  and  commercial 
centralization,  which,  sweeping  all  over  the  north  and 
east  of  the  United  States,  transformed  sleepy  hamlets  and 
bustling  little  towns  into  teeming  and  prosperous  cen- 
ters of  nervous  strenuosity. 

As  far  as  Allentown  is  concerned,  in  this  period  then 
from  1867  to  1900,  there  were  four  main  industrial  lines 
in  the  background  of  the  city's  material  development. 

First,  there  is  the  development  of  the  iron  and  steel 
industry.  In  1867  there  were  five  small  iron  and  steel  indus- 
tries in  the  city.  Thirty-three  years  later,  there  were  six 
more  of  appreciable  size,  and  four  of  the  five  antedating 
the  corporation  of  the  city  had  been  appreciably  extend- 
ed. The  most  important  of  the  newer  industries  was  a 
plant  established  by  the  American  Steel  and  Wire  Com- 
pany,^  a  subsidiary  plant  of  the  United  States  Steel  Cor- 
poration. The  plant  was  devoted  to  the  manufacture  of 
wire  products.  Throughout  its  entire  history,  this  estab- 
lishment has  been  closely  identified  with  the  commercial 
and  industrial  history  of  the  city,  both  because  of  the 
large  number  of  men  employed,  and  by  virtue  of  its  re- 
markable record  of  continuous  operation.  Twelve  foun- 
dries and  machine  shops  sprang  into  being  during  this 
period,  manufacturing  steam  and  gasoline  engines,  brass 
and  iron  castings,  hardware  iron  and  brass  tubes  and  fit- 
tings, knitting  machinery  and  refrigerator  trimmings. 
Virtually  all  of  these  industries  have  prospered,  giving 
steady  employment  and  relatively  substantial  remunera- 
tion to  a  large  number  of  employees. 

Second,  the  wood  working  industries  enjoyed  an  ap- 
preciable growth.  Carriage  making  was  one  of  the  earli- 
est industries  in  the  city.    Three  carriage  making  estab- 


i 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


11 


[ishments  were  in  existence  by  1867,  and  three  more  were 
added  by  the  close  of  the  century.  All  of  them  enjoyed 
a  good,  steady  trade,  the  prosperous  farming  section  ly- 
ing on  ail  sides  of  the  city  furnishing  a  good  market. 

In  1870,  the  making  of  furniture  was  begun  by  Henry 
Berkemeyer.  Within  twenty-five  years,  seven  furniture 
factories  sprang  up.  Of  these,  the  Yeager  Furniture 
Company  has  come  to  enjoy  a  rather  wide  reputation  for 
artistic  productions. 

Five  planing  mills  were  located  in  Allentown  be- 
tween 1865  and  1890.  These  extended  the  demand  for 
skilled  workers.  These  mills  fill  the  demands  of  the  local 
market,  and  sell,  to  some  extent,  to  the  local  markets  of 
eastern  Pennsylvania. 

Third,  there  is  the  manufacture  of  boots  and  shoes. 
In  1860,  *  *  the  manner  of  dress  was  different  from  that  of 
today.  Men  all  wore  boots.  Children,  four  or  five  years 
old,  who  were  the  pride  of  the  family,  were  not  in  full 
dress  without  a  pair  of  boots.  Women  wore  shoes  made 
of  lasting,  mostly  in  colors,  like  brown  and  grey.  For 
every  day  wear  ladies  wore  shoes  made  out  of  extra  heavy 
kip  and  calf,  that  had  nearly  all  hand-pegged  bottoms. 
#  *  #  rpi^g  gjjg  Sunday  boots  were  made  out  of  domestic 
calf  and  French  calf,  and  were  handsewed  and  pegged.  *  *  * 
In  1865,  when  H.  Leh  and  Company,  the  pioneer  shoe 
manufacturers  of  the  city,  began  manufacturing  by  ma- 
chine, ''there  was  no  factory  in  Pennsylvania  outside  of 
Philadelphia,  and  none  from  here  to  Cincinnati.*'  The 
project  of  shoe  manufacturing  developed  rapidly  in  the 
city  after  the  initial  advent  of  Mr.  Leh,  and  by  1900, 
there  were  seven  boot  and  shoe  factories  in  the  city,  sup- 
plying rather  more  than  a  local  market,  and  furnishing 
employment  for  a  large  number  of  people,  including  a 
number  of  women  and  girls. 

Fourth,  of  the  bases  of  the  city's  industrial  develop- 
ment during  the  period  under  consideration,  is  that  entire 
group  of  industries  known  as  the  textiles.  Later  state- 
ments may  be  forecast  here  with  the  remark  that  Allen- 
town  is  today  the  leading  textile  manufacturing  city  in 
the  state,  outside  of  Philadelphia.  Between  1880  and 
1900,  some  ten  textile   industries    were    located    here. 

4  Quoted  from  a  paper  read  by  H.  Leh  at  Pennsylvania  State  Sho« 
lifanufacturers  Ass'n  meeting  in  1900. 


12 


The  Churches  of  Alleniown 


Among  them  was  the  Adelaide  Silk  Mill,  ^  *  which  was  the 
pioneer  silk  mill  in  Pennsylvania/'  Its  formal  opening 
in  1881  was  made  a  great  social  occasion.  Special  trains 
ran  into  the  town,  Mayors,  State  Senators,  metropolitan 
bankers,  Congressmen,  and  heads  of  large  business  enter- 
prises from  a  widely  extended  territory,  were  present  to 
share  in  the  formal  exercises  connected  with  its  opening. 

Hon.  E.  G.  Martin,  Mayor  of  the  city,  closed  his  dedi- 
catory address  with  these  words :  *  ^  We  now  dedicate  this 
building  to  the  industry  of  silk  manufacture,  with  the 
hope  that  it  may  prove  to  be  the  nucleus  of  a  great  and 
extensive  enterprise  in  the  Lehigh  Valley. '*  ^  This  hope 
was  rapidly  realized,  for  not  only  the  Adelaide,  but  the 
entire  group  of  silk  and  textile  industries  grew  rapidly. 

One  result  of  this  development  was  the  extensive 
employment  of  women  and  children.  It  will,  of  course, 
be  remembered  that  there  was  virtually  no  labor  legisla- 
tion in  Pennsylvania,  limiting  or  restricting  the  employ- 
ment of  these  groups,  before  the  close  of  the  first  decade 
of  the  twentieth  century.  Older  residents  are  unanimous 
in  the  declaration  that  entrance  into  the  mills  involved, 
in  the  closing  decades  of  the  19th  century,  no  social  deg- 
radation, and  that  daughters  of  some  of  the  best  families, 
so  called,  entered  this  field  of  employment.  The  situation 
in  fact  seems  to  have  rivalled  that  which  existed  around 
the  middle  of  the  century  in  the  New  England  states, 
when  the  girls  of  the  family  worked  in  the  mills  while  the 
boys  went  to  Yale  and  Harvard,  and  school  teachers  sup- 
plemented their  faulty  salaries  by  taking  a  summer  turn 
in  the  factory.  The  writer  recalls  how,  as  a  boy  at  the 
close  of  the  last  century,  he  wrestled  with  the  invitation 
of  the  ** Small  Boys  Wanted  Here''  sign  which  adorned 
the  doorways  and  outside  walls  of  these  mills,  weighing 
their  call,  with  the  promise  of  ready  cash,  against  the 
parental  mandate  to  continue  a  school  career.  Such  signs, 
together  with  such  as  * '  Girls  Wanted, "  * '  Women  Want- 
ed," and  '^ Young  Children  Wanted,"  were  for  almost 
three  decades  familiar  sights,  staring  passersby  in  the 
face  day  after  day. 

This  situation  reacted  directly  upon  the  growth  of  pop- 
ulation. The  thrifty  German  farmers  from  the  surround- 
ing country,  influenced  by  the  city-ward  tendency  of  the 

6  "Aimiversary  History."    Vol.  1,  p.  1068. 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


13 


time,  were  considerably  attracted  by  the  opportunities 
which  the  mills  afforded.  While  the  head  of  the  family 
worked  in  the  various  establishments  in  and  about  the 
city,  the  women  and  children  of  the  household  could  con- 
tribute their  share  to  the  family  income.  Many  an  older 
family  today  owns  its  own  home  as  a  result  of  this  earlier 
prosperity,  when  every  member  of  the  family  practically 
was  in  receipt  of  a  pay  envelope.  It  will  be  pointed  out 
later  on  in  this  chapter  how  extensive  this  influx  from  the 
surrounding  country  really  has  been. 

In  addition  to  these  four  lines  of  industrial  develop- 
ment, there  was  growth  along  many  other  lines.  This 
survey  is  not  meant  to  be  exhaustive,  but  simply  to  sug- 
gest the  main  channels  of  the  economic  growth  during 
the  period. 

There  remain  to  be  noted  two  other  industries,  not 
in  the  city,  but  sufficiently  nearby  to  react  profoundly 
upon  the  life  and  growth  of  the  city. 

One  of  these  is  the  cement  industry.  **  Natural  ce- 
ment was  used  in  the  United  States  as  early  as  1818.  In 
the  construction  of  the  Lehigh  Canal  it  was  manufactur- 
ed at  Lehigh  Gap,  from  1826  to  1830,  and  at  Siegfried, 
from  1830  to  1841.''  ^  Both  of  these  places  are  less  than 
a  score  of  miles  from  Allentown  to  the  north.  Nothing 
much  was  done  in  regard  to  developing  the  industry 
at  this  early  period,  and  it  was  not  until  excavations  made 
by  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  Company  along  the  west 
bank  of  the  Lehigh  River  laid  bare  an  extensive  forma- 
tion of  cement  rock  near  Coplay,  that  the  real  history  of 
this  industry  begins  in  this  section.  In  1866,  the  Coplay 
Cement  Company  was  formed.  Coplay  is  perhaps  ten 
miles  north  of  Allentown.  This  company  started  in  a 
small  way,  but  found  its  business  profitable,  and  soon  en- 
larged its  plant.  In  1873,  the  company  began  manufac- 
turing ** Portland  cement"  made  by  a  newly  discovered 
process.  This  new  product  became  popular  and  was  soon 
in  great  demand,  being  recognized  as  the  equal  of  the  best 
foreign  brands.  By  1890,  this  one  plant  was  producing  at 
the  rate  of  350,000  barrels  a  year,  being  now  used  exten- 
sively in  the  construction  of  government  works. 

Meanwhile,  the  American  Portland  Cement  Company 
was  organized.    Four  hundred  acres  were  purchased,  and 

6  "Anniversary  History."    Vol.  1,  p.  1066^ 


u 


The  Churches  of  Altentown 


a  plant  erected  which  was  sold  in  1898  at  a  cost  of  three 
million  dollars.  The  four  large  mills  which  comprised 
it  had  a  combined  capacity  of  1,800,000  barrels  a  year. 
The  plant  is  located  at  Egypt,  a  few  miles  to  the  north 
of  Allentown. 

In  1897,  the  Lehigh  Portland  Cement  Company  was 
organized,  and  a  plant  erected  one  mile  west  of  Egypt. 
This  plant  has  an  inexhaustible  deposit  of  cement  rock, 
and  today  owns  eleven  mills,  which  have  an  annual  ca- 
pacity of  12,000,000  barrels. 

According  to  the  figures  furnished  by  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey,  the  last  decade  of  the  19th  cen- 
tury saw  from  one-half  to  three-fourths  of  the  cement  pro- 
duction of  the  United  States  furnished  by  the  Lehigh  Dis- 
trict, which  includes  eastern  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jer- 
sey. 

The  development  of  this  industry  meant  much  to  Al- 
lentown. A  large  part  of  the  capital  invested  in  these 
cement  plants  is  Allentown  capital.  Around  these  mills, 
new  towns  sprang  up,  and  old  ones  boomed.  These  towns 
have  been,  and  are,  dependent  upon  Allentown  for  many 
articles  of  consumption.  Moreover,  the  trolley  system  of 
the  town,  financed  in  many  cases  by  the  same  capitalists 
that  financed  the  cement  mills,  speedily  extended  their  sys- 
tem to  include  these  cement  towns.  The  railroads  began 
running  special  trains  morning  and  evening  directly  to 
the  plants.  As  a  result  of  these  means  of  quick  and 
cheap  transportation,  many  of  the  employees  began  to 
prefer  living  in  Allentown,  away  from  the  cement  dust, 
and  where  greater  home  conveniences  were  possible.  The 
writer  recalls  how  as  a  boy  in  the  late  nineties,  living  in 
a  small  village  some  fifteen  miles  from  Allentown,  a  cur- 
rent topic  for  discussion  among  many  wage  earners  was 
the  combination  of  advantages  which  resulted  from  mov- 
ing to  the  city,  i.  e.  Allentown.  One  could  become  a  city 
dweller,  be  sure  of  work  in  the  rapidly  growing  cement 
mills  nearby,  transportation  to  them  was  easy  and  cheap, 
and  the  mills  in  the  city  itself  gave  the  opportunity  of 
employment  to  the  women  and  children  of  the  household. 

The  other  industry  near  to  the  city,  which  became  a 
causative  factor  in  its  growth,  was  the  Bethlehem  Steel 
plant.    At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1857  the  project  of 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


15 


building  iron  works  at  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  was  inaugurated 
by  residents  of  that  vicinity.  That  same  year,  the  Sau- 
cona  Iron  Company  was  chartered.  This  name  was  speed- 
ily changed  to  another,  and  then  another,  and  finally  in 
1899,  the  ** Bethlehem  Steel  Company''  was  incorporated. 
More  recently,  the  Bethlehem  Steel  Corporation  has  been 
formed,  but  the  plant  at  Bethlehem,  which  concerns  us 
here,  does  business  under  the  name  of  the  subsidiary 
company  of  the  Bethlehem  Steel  Company. 

This  plant  grew  rapidly  from  the  very  beginning.  Its 
presiding  genius,  the  world-famous  John  Fritz,  was  a 
large  factor  in  its  rapid  growth.  Early  in  the  70 's,  the 
then  recent  invention  of  the  Bessemer  process  of  making 
steel  was  taken  up,  and  the  first  steel  was  rolled  in  1873. 
In  1886,  it  was  decided  to  build  an  armor  plate  works, 
and  during  the  following  years,  contracts  were  taken 
from  the  United  States  Government  for  armor  plate 
and  gun  forgings. 

The  plant  at  South  Bethlehem  today  covers  more 
than  2,100  acres.  It  manufactures  articles  which  cover 
the  whole  range  of  iron  and  steel  products.  In  1910,  more 
than  10,000  men  were  employed  there.  By  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1916,  the  number  exceeded  17,000.  One  year 
later,  the  number  was  considerably  in  excess  of  20,000. 
The  gigantic  war  orders  growing  out  of  the  European 
struggle  have  reacted  most  favorably  upon  the  prosperity 
of  the  plant.  The  Bethlehem  Steel  Company  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1917  had  orders  from  the  federal  government  ag- 
gregating more  than  $500,000,000.  The  high  wages  paid 
and  the  opportunities  for  employment  served  to  attract 
men  and  women  from  an  extensive  territory.  A  part  of 
this  labor  force  has,  of  course,  been  attracted  from  Allen- 
town,  which  is  but  a  thirty-minute  trolley  ride  from  the 
plant.  A  large  majority  of  the  influx  of  laborers  from 
other  sections  to  this  plant  during  the  last  several  years 
has  been  compelled  to  live  in  Allentown  because  of  the 
utter  lack  of  housing  facilities  in  the  Bethlehems.  The 
housing  situation  in  Allentown,  as  a  result,  has  been  acute 
for  several  years. 

In  fact,  the  influence  of  the  proximity  of  this  busy 
$75,000,000  steel  plant  to  Allentown,  has  been  and  is, 
great.  It  has  contributed  much  to  the  city's  prosperity, 
it  has  contributed  to  the  city's  population.  It  has  brought 


16 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


many  people  of  non-German  stock  into  both  the  city  it- 
self and  the  surrounding  region.  It  has  brought  a  num- 
ber of  homeless  men  into  the  city,  meaning  men  who  are 
living  away  from  their  families.  It  has  given  Allentown 
a  rooming  problem,  it  has  raised  a  moral  and  religious 
problem.  In  fact,  it  is  difficult  to  find  any  aspect  of  the 
municipal  life  which  has  not  been  effected,  particularly 
during  the  past  three  years. 

Allentown  In  the  Twentieth  Century. 

The  population  of  Allentown  in  1890  was  25,228.  In 
1900,  it  had  risen  to  35,416,  a  gain  for  the  decade  of  40.4 
per  cent.  Ten  years  later,  in  1910,  the  federal  census 
gives  a  population  for  the  city  of  51,913,  or  a  gain  of  46.6 
per  cent  over  1900.  The  population  in  the  spring  of  1917, 
the  time  of  this  study,  is  not  known.  But  there  are  sever- 
al figures  for  that  particular  time  which  permit  a  fairly 
accurate  approximation.  The  estimates  of  the  federal 
census  department,  made  for  the  purposes  of  military 
conscription,  put  Allentown  ^s  population  at  80,526.  The 
city  directory,  completed  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  con- 
tains a  few  more  than  70,000  names.  Most  Allentonians, 
well  informed  on  the  subject  of  the  city's  growth,  feel 
that  the  federal  estimate  is  too  high.  On  the  other  hand, 
frequent  use  of  the  city  directory,  such  as  the  writer  has 
been  compelled  to  make  and  has  been  a  witness  to  in  a 
newspaper  office,  proves  conclusively  that  many  names 
are  omitted.  It  has  seemed  fair  therefore  to  take  a  figure 
half-way  between  the  two,  or  75,000.  An  estimate  of 
75,684  would  mean  that  the  city's  population  had  multi- 
plied by  three  since  1890.  Approximately,  it  is  believed 
that  this  is  correct.  The  consent  of  a  number  of  well-in- 
formed citizens  approves  of  this  general  statement. 

The  period  since  1890  very  naturally  forms  a  distinct 
epoch  in  the  life  of  the  city,  a  period  during  which  an  in- 
land town  of  about  25,000  trebled  its  population,  and  grew 
into  an  industrial  and  commercial  beehive,  rapidly  ap- 
proaching in  size  and  economic  importance  what  in  this 
state  is  called  a  second  class  city. 

The  rate  of  growth  in  population  is  a  barometer  of 
what  has  taken  place  in  the  business  and  industrial  life 
of  the  city.  In  this  twenty-seven  year  period,  existing 
industries  have  been  expanded,  and  new  ones  have  beea 


Study  in  Statistics 

added.  Especially  did  the  textile  industries  boom  and 
grow  in  numbers.  From  1900  to  1914,  about  25  new  tex- 
tile establishments  were  located  in  the  city. 

The  Federal  census,  in  discussing  the  economic  stat- 
us of  Allentown  in  and  up  to  1910,  speaks  as  follows:  **  Af- 
ter Philadelphia,  Allentown  is  the  most  important  city 
of  the  state  in  the  manufacture  of  textiles.  The  textile 
industries,  including  the  dyeing  and  finishing  of  textiles, 
are  the  most  important  in  the  city,  having  a  combined 
output  valued  at  $9,838,000,  or  37.5  per  cent  of  the  total 
for  all  industries  of  the  city  for  1909.  The  manufacture 
of  silk  and  silk  goods  is  the  leading  branch  of  the  textile 
industry  in  this  city  and  increased  in  value  of  output 
from  $3,468,000  in  1889  to  $7,456,000  in  1909.  The  metal- 
working  industries  reported  products  valued  at  nearly 
$7,000,000;  the  boot  and  shoe  industry,  products  valued 
at  $1,302,000;  and  tobacco  manufactures,  products  valued 
at  $1,446,000.  ^ 

Elsewhere,  the  census  says:  ** Allentown  ranked  as 
the  ninth  city  in  the  state  in  1909  and  1904  and  tenth  in 
1899  in  the  value  of  its  manufactured  products. '  ^  ^ 

Allentown  is  a  prosperous  city.  Of  this  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  The  whole  appearance  of  the  city  reflects  it. 
In  1916,  there  were  17,422  buildings  in  the  city.  More 
than  99  per  cent  are  of  brick,  stone  and  cement.  Nearly 
one-half  of  the  families  of  the  city  own  their  own  homes. 
The  assessed  valuation  of  the  city's  real  estate  in  1916 
was  over  $61,000,000.  The  market  value  of  real  estate 
owned  by  individuals  and  corporations  in  that  year  was 
over  $100,000,000.  There  are  1,250  mercantile  establish- 
ments. These,  as  well  as  the  city  as  a  whole,  profit  by 
the  fact  that  within  a  radius  of  six  miles,  there  is  a  popu- 
lation of  around  200,000.  For  this  population,  Allentown 
is  the  shopping,  business  and  banking  center. 

Bringing  this  large  population  into  intimate  contact 
with  the  city  is  the  fine  trolley  system  of  which  Allen- 
town is  the  center.  This  system  extends  northward  to 
Slatington,  eastward  to  Delaware  Water  Gap,  westward 
to  Reading,  and  southward  to  Philadelphia.  With  these 
arteries  of  trade,  plus  the  feeding  by  three  railroad  sys- 

7  Thirteenth  Census  of  the  United  States,  Abstract,  1910.    p.  712, 
i8  Ibid.  ^ ' 


la 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


tems,  Allentown  merchants  are  enabled  to  do  business 
with  fully  300,000  people. 

The  Nativity  and   Nationaiity  of  Allentown'g   Population. 

Although  Allentown  has  grown  rapidly  within  recent 
decades,  both  as  to  numbers  and  industrial  importance, 
she  has  not  done  so,  like  many  other  American  industrial 
centers,  by  virtue  of  any  unusual  influx  of  the  foreign 
born.  According  to  the  census  of  1910,  74  per  cent  of  the 
city's  population  were  native  born  of  native  parents,  13.8 
per  cent  were  native  born  of  foreign  or  mixed  parents, 
and  12  per  cent  were  foreign  born.  Let  us  analyze  each 
of  these  three  elements  as  to  national  origin,  location 
within  the  city,  etc. 

a.    The  Foreign  Born. 

The  foreign  born  population  of  Allentown  in  1910 
numbered  6,234.  The  number  in  1900  was  2,985.  The 
percentage  of  increase  for  the  decade  is  109.  As  the  per- 
centage of  increase  for  the  city  as  a  whole  during  the  de- 
cade was  but  46.6,  it  appears  that  the  foreign  born  in- 
creased more  than  twice  as  rapidly  as  the  population 
as  a  whole.  Forming  8.4  per  cent  of  the  city's  population 
in  1900,  they  comprised,  as  has  been  noted,  12  per  cent 
in  1910. 

In  regard  to  the  composition  by  nationality  of  the 
foreign  born  in  1910,  the  census  figures  show  Austria, 
Hungary  and  Germany  to  have  been  the  three  most  im- 
portant contributors,  of  relative  numerical  importance  in 
the  order  named:  24.5  per  cent,  or  one  out  of  four  of  the 
foreign  born,  are  Austrian  born;  21.8  per  cent  are  Hun- 
garian; and  17.7  per  cent  are  German.  Italy,  Russia  and 
Ireland  follow  with  10.6,  8.8  and  6.6  per  cent,  respectively. 

Looking  at  the  foreign  born  from  another  standpoint, 
and  including  the  nationalities  of  lesser  numerical  im- 
portance, it  is  found  that  67  per  cent  are  of  new  immi- 
grant stock,  and  33  per  cent  are  of  old  immigrant  stock. 

Turning  to  the  distribution  of  the  foreign  born  with- 
in the  city,  one  finds  a  rather  complete  segregation.  If 
one  takes  the  1st,  6th,  9th  and  10th  wards,  comprising 
the  eastern  and  northeastern  part  of  the  city,  it  will  be 
found  that  77.5  per  cent  of  the  foreign  born  are  located 
there.  Adding  the  second  ward,  covering  the  southern 
section  of  the  city  before  annexation  of  the  14th  ward 


I 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


19 


in  1911,  one  has  a  section  comprising  84.4  per  cent  of  this 
entire  element. 

The  area  of  Allentown,  actually  built  up  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  resembles  in  shape,  a  rectangle,  running  east 
and  west.  With  the  exception  of  the  recently  annexed 
14th  ward,  the  Lehigh  River  is  the  eastern  boundary  of 
the  city.  The  width  of  the  imperfect  rectangle  ranges, 
from  the  river  front  to  Twelfth  street,  between  fifteen  and 
twenty  blocks.  West  of  Twelfth  street,  the  width  of  the 
city  narrows  until,  arriving  at  Twentieth  street,  which  is 
now  the  western  limit  of  the  built-up  part  of  the  city,  one 
finds  a  width  of  five  blocks. 

It  is  the  lower  or  eastern  portion  of  the  city,covering 
a  strip  of  from  four  to  six  blocks  in  depth  and  as  wide  as 
the  city,  a  section  traversed  by  the  railroads  and  lying 
next  to  the  Lehigh  River,  which  is  the  center  of  the  for- 
eign element,  and  in  which,  as  has  been  indicated,  prac- 
tically nine  out  of  every  ten  of  the  foreigners,  live.  Al- 
most 39  per  cent  are  in  the  sixth  ward,  erstwhile  home  of 
the  Irish  and  Germans,  and  known  as  ''the  tough  sixth*' 
for  many  years.  But  14  per  cent  of  the  entire  population 
in  this  ward  in  1910  was  composed  of  native  born  stock 
of  native  born  parents. 

b.    The  Native  Born  of  Foreign  or  Mixed  Parentage. 

This  element,  in  1910,  amounted  to  7,172,  forming 
13.8  per  cent  of  the  total  population  of  the  city.  Of  these, 
4,987  were  native  born  with  both  parents  foreign  born. 
The  nationality  of  the  parents  of  this  latter  group  is  giv- 
en by  the  census,  and  gives  us  some  information  concern- 
ing the  national  origin  of  the  older  immigrats  in  the 
city.  The  census  data  show  that  the  parents  of  32  per 
cent  were  German  born,  and  the  parents  of  18  per  cent 
were  Irish  born.  The  two  combined  account  for  the  na- 
tionality of  one-half  of  the  group  under  consideration. 

Of  note  in  this  connection  is  the  utter  lack  of  Scan- 
dinavians. There  were,  in  1910,  but  3  people  in  the  city 
with  Norwegian  parents,  and  but  16  with  Swedish  par- 
ents. The  fact  of  the  matter  is  that  there  are  more  in- 
habitants of  the  city,  with  both  parents  born  in  France 
than  there  are  with  Scandinavian  born  parents.  The  cen- 
sus gives  30  people  with  both  parents  born  in  France. 

The  other  half  of  the  native  born  with  both  parents 
foreign  born  is  accounted  for  by  Austria,  Hungary,  Rus- 


20 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


sia,  Italy  and  a  small  scattering  from  several  other  conn 
tries.  The  percentages  for  the  four  named  nations  are  15, 
8,  8,  and  5.4,  respectively. 

Turning  to  the  distribution  within  the  city  of  the 
native  born  of  foreign  and  mixed  parentage,  one  discov- 
ers a  condition  similar  to  that  pointed  out  with  reference 
to  the  foreign  born.  Seventy-three  per  cent,  or,  in  gen- 
eral terms,  three  out  of  every  four,  were  located,  in  1910, 
in  the  same  five  wards  that  were  named  as  the  section 
containing  the  overwhelming  portion  of  the  foreign  born. 
There  is  a  rather  sharp  line  of  cleavage.  Very  few  per- 
sons of  foreign  stock,  using  that  term  in  the  sense  that 
the  United  States  census  uses  it,  can  be  found  in  the  cen- 
tral or  western  part  of  the  city. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  noted  that  this  sec- 
tion is  not  solidly  inhabited  by  those  of  foreign  stock. 
While  most  foreigners  are  in  this  section,  not  all,  or 
nearly  all,  in  this  section  are  of  foreign  stock.  There  is 
a  substantial  native  element,  composed  of  the  poorer  lab- 
oring classes  and  some  more  prosperous  families,  who 
have  withstood  the  movement  towards  the  western  sec- 
tion of  the  city. 

c.    The  Native  Born  of  Native  Parents. 

This  element  in  1910  formed  74  per  cent  of  the  p 
lation  of  the  city.  Their  exact  number  was  38,368 
apparent  therefore  that  we  are  dealing  with  a  city  whose 
people  are  predominantly  of  native  stock.  It  has  been 
pointed  out  that  the  foreign  stock  lives  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  city,  close  to  the  railroad  and  the  river.  The  west- 
ern wards  are  exclusively  inhabited  by  the  native  stock. 

Since  the  population  figures  of  Allentown  show  the 
city  to  have  been  transformed  within  the  last  few  de- 
cades, and  the  increase  does  not  seem  to  have  resulted 
from  any  large  influx  of  foreigners,  whence  then  came 
the  many  newcomers  1  Any  old  resident  of  the  town  will 
quickly  answer.  And  the  answer  will  be  the  same  from 
every  one.  The  rural  districts,  lying  about  the  city,  con- 
tributed heavily  to  the  population,  especially  in  the  last 
decade  of  the  19th  century,  and  the  opening  years  of  the 
20th  century.  Nor  is  it  necessary  to  depend  upon  general 
observation.  Several  interesting  groups  of  data,  on  this 
point,  are  at  hand. 


It  is       ■ 


A  Study  in  Statistics  tl 

In  the  spring  of  1917,  a  little  book  was  published 
containing  the  pictures  and  biographical  sketches  of  147 
men  in  the  city.  Most  of  the  city's  public  and  profession- 
al men  were  included.  An  analysis  of  the  147  sketches 
shows  that  25  per  cent  of  these  men  were  bom  in  Allen- 
town,  54  per  cent  came  to  the  city  from  the  outlying  rural 
districts,  and  21  per  cent  from  somewhat  more  distant 
cities  and  places. 

Similarly,  the  writer  tabulated  data  from  500  consec- 
utive biographical  sketches  of  Allentonians,  given  in  the 
second  and  third  volumes  of  the  Lehigh  County  Anniver- 
sary History.  An  analysis  of  the  data  shows  that  25  per 
cent  of  the  subjects  of  the  sketches  were  born  in  Allen- 
town,  53  per  cent  were  born  in  the  near  outlying  dis- 
tricts and  then  migrated  into  the  city,  and  22  per  cent 
were  born  in  the  more  distant  cities  and  places.  These 
two  analyses  are  cited  because  it  is  believed  that  they  are 
indicative  of  a  general  situation. 

It  is  also  pertinent  at  this  point  to  peer  into  the  his- 
torical background  to  determine,  if  possible,  the  origin  of 
this  native  stock.  Allentown  is  located  in  Lehigh  Coun- 
ty, which,  together  with  Berks  and  Northampton  coun- 
ties, are  generally  spoken  of  as  Pennsylvania  ** Dutch" 
counties. 

The  influx  of  German  settlers  into  Pennsylvania  is  a 
well  known  historical  fact.  ^  ^  The  principal  port  of  entry 
for  German  immigration  before  the  Revolution  was  Phil- 
adelphia. *'  ^  And  '^previous  to  the  Revolution  it  is  esti- 
mated that  over  100,000  Germans  and  Swiss  settled  in 
Pennsylvania  alone.''  ^^  German  immigrants  of  course 
went  into  other  states,  but  *Hhe  German  settlements  in 
Pennsylvania  were  more  numerous  and  more  important 
than  those  of  all  the  other  states  combined.  In  the  other 
states  the  Germans  formed  but  a  small  percentage  of  the 
population,  and  have  influenced  but  little  the  character 
of  the  State  development;  while  those  in  Pennsylvania 
have  from  the  beginning  down  to  the  present  time  form- 
ed at  least  one-third  of  the  population."  ^^  This  esti- 
mate of  one-third  agrees  with  the  estimates  of  Dr.  Rush, 
Benjamin  Franklin  and  other  authorities. 

9  Faust,  "The  German  Element  in  the  United  States/'  Vol.  1,  p.  111. 

10  Kuhns,  "German  and  Swiss  Settlements  of  Pennsylvania."  p.  1. 
n  Kuhns,  p.  30. 


22  The  Churches  of  Allentown 

One  of  the  most  interesting  points  of  view  from 
which  to  regard  Pennsylvania  in  colonial  days  is  as  the 
center  of  distribution  of  foreign  immigration.  Knhns,  in 
commenting  on  this  point,  says:  ^'The  earliest  arrivals 
of  the  people  with  whom  we  have  to  do  in  this  book  re- 
mained in  Germantown,  Philadelphia,  or  the  immediate 
vicinity.  Shortly  after  the  beginning  of  the  new  century 
they  began  to  penetrate  the  dense  forests  which  then  cov- 
ered the  present  counties  of  Montgomery,  Lancaster  and 
Berks.  As  the  lands  nearest  to  Philadelphia  became 
gradually  taken  up,  the  settlers  were  forced  to  make 
their  way  further  and  further  to  the  West.  When  no 
more  lands  remained  on  this  side  of  the  Susquehanna,  the 
Germans  crossed  the  river  and  founded  the  counties  of 
York  and  Cumberland.  Still  later  they  spread  over 
Northampton,  Dauphin,  Lehigh,  Lebanon,  and  the  other 
counties,  while  toward  the  end  of  the  century  the  tide 
of  colonization  swept  to  the  South  and  the  newly  opened 
West.'*  ^^  Similarly,  Fisher  writes:  **The  Germans  held 
Lancaster,  Berks,  Montgomery,  and  Lehigh  Counties,  re- 
taining the  language  and  customs  of  their  native  coun- 
try and  living  to  themselves.  They  developed  a  dialect 
of  debased  German  and  English,  which  is  still  spoken  in 
the  districts  they  first  occupied,  and  to  this  day  they  re- 
tain a  large  share  of  their  original  German  character- 
istics." ^^ 

Concerning  their  national  origin,  Faust  writes: 
**  Though  living  in  various  parts  of  the  IJnited  States,  the 
pre-Revolutionary  Germans  all  belonged  to  the  same  gen- 
eral type,  since  they  came  from  a  common  stock  and 
home,  mainly  from  the  Rhine  countries  and  Switzerland, 
and  on  their  arrival  met  similar  conditions  in  the  Ameri- 
can colonies.  They  were  not  paupers,  though  a  great 
many  of  them,  to  pay  for  their  transportation,  were  com- 
pelled to  pledge  themselves  to  several  years  of  servitude. 
They  were  not  wealthy,  though  many  of  them  brought 
with  them  sums  of  money  that  they  had  realized  from 
the  sale  of  their  lands  at  home.  The  later  they  settled 
in  America  the  farther  west  they  were  obliged  to  move, 
not  being  able  to  purchase  the  land  where  it  had  become 
expensive,  i.  e.,  along  the  coastline.    Therefore,  whether 

12  Faust,  op.  cit,  p.  59.    13  Fisher,  "Men,  Women  and  Manner*  in 
Colonial  Times."  Vol.  1,  p.  S4i. 


A  Study  in  Statistics  23 

in  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  Maryland,  Virginia,  or  the 
Carolinas,  they  constantly  became  the  settlers  of  the 
frontier,  which  they  defended,  and  assisted  in  pushing 
back  farther  and  farther  to  the  westward.  The  German 
settler  became  a  recognized  type  of  frontiersman,  and  be- 
ing most  numerous  in  Pennsylvania,  or  most  frequent- 
ly coming  from  there,  he  received  the  name  Pennsylvania 
Dutch,  or  Pennsylvania  German. ' '  ^^ 

It  has  been  shown  that  Lehigh  County,  in  which  Al- 
lentown  is  located,  was  settled  by  the  Germans.  It  is 
clear,  therefore,  that  the  majority  of  Allentonians 
should  be  drawn  from  this  stock  under  normal  circum- 
stances. And  our  brief  review  of  the  history  of  the  city 
showed  no  abnormal  conditions  developing  until  within 
the  past  few  years  to  change  the  complexion  of  the  stock. 
In  the  previously  cited  analysis  of  500  histories  of  resi- 
dents of  the  city,  the  data  of  national  origin  were  also 
compiled,  together  with  the  date  of  the  migration  into 
this  country  of  the  original  ancestor.  This  compilation 
shows  that  85  per  cent  of  the  residents  included  are  of 
German  stock,  4  per  cent  are  of  Swiss  origin,  3  per  cent 
are  English,  2  per  cent  are  Irish,  1  per  cent  Hugenot,  2  per 
cent  Welsh,  and  3  per  cent  not  given.  Attention  however 
is  called  to  the  fact  that  this  proportion  does  not  exist 
with  reference  to  the  population  as  a  whole,  but  it  is  be- 
lieved that  the  summary  cited  is  indicative  of  the  nation- 
al origin  of  the  native  stock,  from  which  stock  most  of 
the  sketches  included  in  the  study  are  drawn.  To  what 
extent,  statistically,  these  five  hundred  names  embrace 
representatives  of  the  old  stock,  can  be  seen  in  the  next 
paragraph. 

The  ancestors  of  56  per  cent  of  the  500  cases  tabu- 
lated came  to  this  country  before  1750.  The  ancestors  of 
11  per  cent  began  life  in  the  New  World  between  1750 
and  1800.  In  other  words,  67  per  cent,  or  two  out  of 
every  three  date  their  family  trees  back  to  the  18th  cen- 
tury. Eegarding  the  remaining  33  per  cent,  18  per  cent 
go  to  the  19th  century,  1  per  cent  to  the  20th  century,  and 
14  per  cent  not  clearly  given.  In  the  majority  of  cases, 
the  name  and  the  sketch  of  the  family  suggests  classifi- 
cation among  the  18th  century  group. 

H  Faiist,  op.  cit,  pp.  129,  130. 


24  The  Churches  of  Alleniown 

It  can  safely  be  said  in  summary  therefore,  that  the 
native  stock,  i.  e.,  the  native  born  of  native  parents,  are 
for  the  most  part  of  German  origin,  in  a  majority  of  cases 
going  back  to  the  middle  of  the  18th  century,  and  under- 
going at  present,  for  the  first  time  in  the  family  history, 
the  process  of  urbanization.  We  are  dealing  primarily 
with  a  group  of  Pennsylvania  Germans,  drawn  within 
the  last  twenty-five  years,  to  a  large  extent,  from  the  sur- 
rounding farms  and  runal  villages.  These  are  facts  of 
common  knowledge  in  the  city  itself. 

Characteristics  of  the  People. 

It  is  always  a  difficult  matter  to  offer  any  judgment 
or  description  of  an  age  or  of  a  people  in  general  terms 
which  is  not  open  to  criticism  on  at  least  two  scores.  One 
is  the  fact  that  any  sweeping  statement  must,  out  of  ne- 
cessity, override  a  host  of  contrary  individual  facts.  The 
other  is  that  the  statement  may  be  of  such  a  general  na- 
ture as  to  imply  very  little  that  is  really  definite.  Ages 
and  peoples  have  a  tantalizing  habit  of  refusing  to  be 
truthfully  summarized  and  dismissed  in  a  few  short 
phrases.  Then  too,  the  longer  one  lives  among  a  people, 
the  more  one  becomes  a  part  of  them.  Close  proximity 
obscures  vision  and  prevents  that  distant  and  impartial 
view  so  necessary  for  scientific  approximation  in  things 
of  this  kind. 

In  this  particular  case,  however,  the  task  is  rendered 
easy  to  a  degree  by  the  fact  that  the  predominant  element, 
the  Pennsylvania  Germans,  settled  in  certain  communi- 
ties, lived  a  distinct  life,  intermarried,  and  developed  a 
distinctive  type.  The  tenacity  with  which  they  have  held 
to  the  dialect  for  centuries,  as  well  as  its  universality  until 
a  short  time  ago,  is  but  a  concrete  expression  of  the  ten- 
acity of  the  distinctive  type.  One  hopes  therefore  to  be 
freed  from  presumption  in  attempting  that  which  often 
is  a  most  precarious  venture. 

To  begin  with,  the  people  of  Allentown  have  been, 
historically  speaking,  a  conservative  people.  Kuhns, 
himself  of  this  stock,  in  discussing  this  point,  says :  * '  One 
trait  has  persisted  down  to  the  present — the  strong  spirit 
of  conservatism.  This  has  from  the  very  beginning  been 
blamed  by  their  English-speaking  neighbors,  who  a  cen- 
tury ago  called  them  stubborn  and  headstrong;  and  even 
today  the  State  historian  is  apt  to  call  attention  to  the 


i 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


25 


fact  that  the  Germans  are  slow  to  move  along  those  lines 
;in  which  the  Anglo-Saxon  is  rushing  forward.  This  con- 
servatism has  its  good  and  bad  sides.  No  doubt  it  would 
be  better  for  some  village  communities  to  have  more  of 
the  'hustle'  of  the  west,  or  of  the  education  and  refine- 
ment of  certain  aristocratic  communities  of  New  England. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  certain  that  lack  of  repose  is  a 
great  weakness  of  our  national  life;  'Ohne  Hast,  Ohne 
East,'  is  an  excellent  motto,  but  Americans  in  general 
cut  the  Goethean  proverb  into  two  parts,  and  thrown 
away  the  first.''  ^^  Nothing  better  evidences  this  con- 
servative spirit  so  characteristic  of  the  typical  Pennsyl- 
vania German  than  his  persistence  in  clinging  to  the 
*' Dutch"  dialect.  Kuhns  recognizes  this  fact  when  he 
writes:  ''Among  the  most  interesting  phenomena  con- 
nected with  the  Pennsylvania  Germans  none  is  more 
striking  than  their  persistence  in  clinging  to  their  dialect. 
Here  we  have  a  group  of  people  living  in  the  very  heart 
of  the  United  States,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  English- 
speaking  people,  almost  every  family  having  some  of  its 
branches  thoroughly  mixed  by  intermarriage  with  these 
people,  yet  still  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  two  hundred 
years  retaining  to  a  considerable  degree  the  language  of 
their  ancestors.  Even  in  large  and  flourishing  cities  like 
Allentown,  Reading  and  Bethlehem  much  of  the  inter- 
course in  business  and  home  life  is  carried  on  in  this 
patois."  ^^  Similarly,  Prof.  F.  J.  Turner,  writing  in  the 
Chicago  Record-Herald  of  September  4th,  1901,  gives  as 
one  of  the  influences  of  the  German  element,  that  "they 
have  infused  into  the  American  stock  and  society  a  con- 
servatism and  sturdy  persistence  and  solidity  useful  in 
moderating  the  nervous  energy  of  the  native  Americans. ' ' 

Of  course  it  must  be  noted  that  these  quotations 
were  all  written  at  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury. Even  Kuhns,  writing  in  1900,  was  able  with  truth 
to  say  that  "in  recent  years,  however,  this  state  of  affairs 
has  much  changed.  With  the  growth  of  towns  and  cities, 
with  the  progress  of  manufactures,  with  the  intermar- 
riage and  mingling  with  their  neighbors,  the  old  conser- 
vative spirit  has  largely  passed  away."  ^'^ 

15  Kuhns,  op.  cit.,  p.  224. 

16  Ibid.  p.  115.    17  Ibid.,  p.  151. 


26 


She  Churches  of  Allentown 


If  that  was  true  then,  it  is  more  so  seventeen  yearl 
later.  This  is  clearly  indicated,  as  far  as  Allentown  is 
concerned,  in  the  passing  of  the  dialect.  The  younger 
generations,  even  many  in  the  older  groups,  can  speak 
but  little  of  it.  There  are  sections  in  the  western  part  of 
the  city  where  one  seldom  hears  it.  The  writer,  living  in 
the  western  part  of  the  town,  has  gone  days  without  hear- 
ing a  single  word  of  Pennsylvania  '^ Dutch''  spoken. 
Kuhns  wrote  with  truth  that  '^railroads,  telegraphs  and 
trolley  cars  are  levelling  the  distances,  and  making  the 
inhabitants  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania  a  more  and  more 
homogeneous  mass.  A  potent  factor  of  this  process  is  the 
constant  intermarriage  between  Germans  and  their  Eng- 
lish-speaking neighbors.  In  no  State  in  the  Union  is  there 
a  more  thorough  mingling  of  nationalities  than  here.''  ^^ 
It  has  been  pointed  out  what  advantages  for  travel  and 
communication  with  other  sections  of  the  country  there 
are  in  Allentown.  And  this  moving  about,  together  with 
the  newer  elements  that  are  coming  into  the  town,  are 
making  the  dialect  a  matter  of  derision.  The  young  are 
ashamed  to  speak  it.  Children  are  no  longer  taught  it. 
And  with  the  passing  of  the  dialect,  there  is  passing  that 
conservatism,  usually  referred  to  in  this  community  as 
'Hhick-headedness"  which  was  once  so  characteristic  of 
the  people.  Allentown  has  been  growing,  in  numbers,  and 
away  from  its  old  moorings.  Constant  mingling  as  lectur- 
er and  writer  with  the  people  of  the  city  and  Lehigh 
Valley  during  the  past  five  years,  has  shown  the  writer  a 
progressive  spirit  crystallizing  that  is  nothing  short  of 
amazing.  Should  the  present  tendency  continue  to  move 
the  mass  of  people  along  progressive  lines,  it  will  be  but 
a  short  time  until  one  will  refer  to  the  former  conserva- 
tism as  a  relic  of  the  '^good  old  days." 

In  conclusion,  of  this  conservative  spirit,  it  must  be 
added  too  that  such  conservatism  as  remains  manifest 
today  cannot  be  called  stubbornness  and  unwillingness  to 
accept  anything  in  the  line  of  innovations.  It  is  rather 
a  tendency  to  play  the  game  safe  by  following  the  beaten 
path  until  the  innovation  has  been  tested  and  proved 
thoroughly. 

Another  strong  trait  of  the  Pennsylvania  German  in 
the  past  has  been  his  individualism.    *^It  is  seen  in  his 

18  Kuhns,  op.  Cit.,  p.  226. 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


27 


independence  in  politics,  his  particularism  in  religion,  his 
agitation  for  personal  liberty.  He  has  no  feeble  fear  of 
what  his  neighbors  think  of  him,  nor  does  he  care  to  con- 
form for  the  sake  of  conformity  to  the  common  pattern  of 
social  form. '  *  ^^  This  trait  has  frequently  led  him  to  ex- 
cess, to  isolation,  or  to  lack  of  cooperation.  He  is  self- 
centered  and  self-reliant.  He  has,  as  a  rule,  prospered, 
and  he  attributes  his  prosperity  to  the  fact  that  he  minds 
his  own  business.  And  minding  his  own  business,  he  ex- 
pects other  people  to  do  the  same. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  Pennsylvania  German  in 
this  regard,  can  be  said  to  an  extent  of  the  people  of  Al- 
lentown.  The  isolation  and  the  failure  to  get  together 
that  attends  individualism,  has  been,  in  the  years  gone 
by,  a  serious  handicap  to  the  city  in  many  of  its  endeav- 
ors. In  part,  this  can  with  truth  be  charged  against  most 
eastern  cities.  It  was,  however,  pronounced  in  Allen- 
town.  But  the  last  five  to  ten  years  have  also  witnessed 
a  change  in  this  respect.  As  a  member  of  the  staff  of  the 
leading  local  newspaper,  the  writer  has  had  occasion  to 
* '  cover '  ^  numerous  civic  events  within  the  past  year.  The 
amount  of  community  spirit  that  is  developing  is  remark- 
able. One  almost  exhausted  vocabulary  and  adjectives 
in  attempting  to  dress  up  verbally  each  civic  venture 
which  was  the  first  of  its  kind  to  be  started  in  the  city 
during  the  past  year.  Allentonians  are  in  the  stage 
now  where  they  are  learning  the  tremendous  possibilities 
in  civic  cooperation,  and  in  the  flush  of  discovery,  are 
moving  ahead  by  leaps  and  bounds.  The  older  individu- 
alism, like  the  older  conservatism,  is  hanging  on,  but  it 
has  seen  its  day.  Tomorrow  it  will  be  an  historical  curi- 
osity. 

The  Pennsylvania  German  people  are  a  home-loving 
people.  Many  writers  have  noted  this  characteristic.  The 
family  is,  in  a  very  definite  sense,  the  unit  in  society.  Men 
take  their  families  with  them  in  pursuit  of  pleasure.  The 
typical  German  in  this  section  dislikes  a  flat  as  a  place  of 
residence.  He  wants  to  live  in  a  house,  because  the  house 
is  the  visible  expression  of  that  which  is  so  desirable  to 
him. 

That  the  German  stock  in  Allentown  is  characterized 
by  this  tendency  can  be  gleaned  from  the  percentage  cited 

19  Faust,  supra.,  Vol.  II,  p.  472, 


28  The  Churches  of  Alleniown 

of  residents  owning  their  own  homes.  It  is,  relatively 
speaking  for  a  city  of  this  size,  a  most  difficult  matter 
to  rent  a  house  in  Allentown.  Kows  after  rows  are  erect- 
ed by  building  contractors,  but  they  are  built  to  sell,  and 
sold  they  are.  The  typical  Allentonian  is  most  happy 
when  he  lives  in  a  house,  which  he  owns.  And  this  house- 
owning  custom  is  the  result  of  a  desire  to  have  the  home 
group  properly  housed,  with  the  necessary  space  for  it  to 
live  and  move  and  have  its  happy  being.  The  customary 
thing  for  the  typical  young  Allentonian  to  do  is  to  marry 
young,  have  children,  invest  his  first  hundred  or  two  of 
savings  in  the  purchase  of  a  home.  And  then,  if,  after 
years  of  saving  and  scraping,  that  home  is  paid  for,  and 
cleared  of  debt,  the  family  has  reached  its  acme  of  reali- 
zation. 

This  love  of  happy  home  life  also  evidences  itself  in 
the  selection  of  a  mate.  Young  Eomeos  in  this  section 
have  been,  through  all  the  years  dating  from  the  settle- 
ment in  the  State,  in  the  habit  of  inquiring,  not  if  the 
prospective  Juliet  be  rich  or  poor,  or  if  she  possess  per- 
sonal and  mental  accomplishments,  but  whether  she  be 
industrious  and  acquainted  with  the  duties  of  a  good 
housewife.  Pennsylvania  German  wives,  including  of 
course  Allentown  wives,  have  always  had,  and  still  have, 
the  reputation  of  being  good  cooks.  The  women  are  do- 
mestic. The  emphasis,  in  judging  their  worth  and  desir- 
ability, is  laid  on  household  arts,  such  as  cooking,  sewing, 
care  of  the  body  and  children. 

It  is  of  course  easy  to  over-emphasize  this  point.  All 
national  groups  have  home-loving  traits.  All  groups 
have  women  with  domestic  virtues.  In  matters  of  this 
kind,  one  is  apt  to  find  that  which  one  is  looking  for.  It  is 
however  believed,  and  it  has  been  stated  many  times  by 
many  observers,  that  these  traits  of  domesticity  are,  rela- 
tively speaking,  in  receipt  of  more  emphasis  among  this 
group  than  among  certain  other  well-defined  elements  in 
the  national  population.  On  the  other  hand,  Allentown, 
like  every  other  town,  has  its  domestic  infelicities,  its  fam- 
ily discords,  its  marital  infidelities,  and  abundance  of  di- 
vorce court  proceedings.  It  seems,  however,  to  be  a  fact 
that  these  things  are  less  typical,  relatively  speaking, 
even  if  perchance  as  numerous,  among  this  group  under 
consideration  here. 


f 


i 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


29 


The  people  of  Allentown,  i.  e.,  the  native  stock,  are 
thrifty  and  economical.  They  live  sparingly  and  spend 
little.  They  are  afraid  of  debt.  Economy  and  thrift  are 
the  watchwords  of  their  daily  life.  But  they  like  to  have 
money  and  will  spend  large  sums  for  anything  upon 
which  they  set  their  hearts.  But  no  matter  how  great 
the  expenditure,  one  can  always  detect  a  thick  stream  of 
resolute  determination  not  to  part  with  money  on  slight 
pretexts.  The  accumulation  of  money  has  no  terrors  for 
them.  Simple  and  inexpensive  the  daily  life  remains,  de- 
spite the  growing  hoard.  Such  a  shrewd  observer  as  Al- 
bert Bushnell  Hart,  in  discussing  this  trait,  says:  *^They 
have  set  to  the  whole  nation  an  example  of  industry,  thrift 
and  respect  for  the  rights  of  others.''  ^o  Visitors  from 
other  parts  of  the  country  have  frequently  expressed 
themselves  to  the  point  that  despite  the  number  of 
wealthy  citizens,  there  are  no  spenders  in  Allentown. 
This  is  partly  true,  partly  untrue.  Allentown  does  have 
so-called  spenders,  but  in  spending,  no  matter  what 
amounts,  there  is  never  the  impression  of  careless  gen- 
erosity, but  rather  one  of  caution  and  foresight. 

The  people  of  Allentown,  in  common  with  the  rest  of 
the  Pennsylvania  German  stock  in  the  State,  are  noted 
for  their  industriousness.  Faust  says:  ** Above  all  things 
the  German  loves  his  work.  He  is  not  forever  exercising 
his  ingenuity  as  to  how  he  may  do  the  least  work  for  the 
most  pay,  or  escape  work  altogether,  but  he  plunges  in 
and  enjoys  his  work,  knowing  the  force  of  the  proverb, 
^Arbeit  macht  das  Leben  suess.'  "  ^^ 

With  this  trait,  goes  another  one.  The  native  stock 
of  this  city  is  characterized  by  a  marked  respect  for  law 
and  order,  and  for  the  officers  that  represent  it.  The 
typical  Allentonian  obeys  the  law,  even  though  he  may 
grumble  a  bit  about  it.  There  is  nothing  like  public  dis- 
order.   There  are  practically  no  strikes. 

In  short,  we  are  dealing  with  a  people  who  are  steady 
rather  than  brilliant;  shrewd  and  economical,  rather  th«n 
stingy  on  the  one  hand  or  reckless  on  the  other;  a  people 
not  clever,  but  careful;  a  sturdy,  happy,  prosperous,  con- 
tented, home-loving,  law-abiding,  smug,  somewhat  com- 
placent, conservative,  a  bit  individualistic  people;  a  peo- 


20  The  Pennsylvania  German.    A  Magazine. 

21  Faust,  supra..  Vol.  II,  p.  470. 


Nov.,  1907. 


30 


The  Churches  of  Atleniown 


pie  who  have  retained  for  centuries  these  traits  of  theii 
fathers,  proud  of  them  in  many  ways,  realizing  the  value 
of  their  virtue,  but  a  people  who  are  now  in  the  process 
of  undergoing  tremendous  changes,  changes  that  will 
make  for  better  and  for  worse.  Many  of  them  are  being  as- 
similated with  the  Anglo-Saxon  element  of  the  American 
stock,  others  still  stubbornly  persist  in  their  distinctive 
Germanism — an  ethnical  entity,  a  wedge  so  to  speak, 
thrust  into  the  very  heart  of  the  United  States.  But  even 
the  persistent  element  is  being  mightily  transformed  to- 
day under  the  force  of  the  complex  influences  that  grow 
out  of  the  modern  city  wilderness.  In  their  transforma- 
tion, many  of  this  element  are  at  a  loss,  only  appreciating 
that  the  ropes  of  life  are  a  bit  snarled,  but  seeing  no  hope 
or  way  out.  The  majority  however  are  seeing  the  dawn- 
ing light  of  the  new  democracy,  of  the  new  community, 
and  are  resolutely  bringing  to  the  wheel  of  progressive 
development  the  might  of  their  sturdy  strength.  Allen- 
town  is  in  a  process  of  transition.  On  the  surface,  the 
superficial  observer  will  see  only  the  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
man yeomanry.  More  careful  study  will  reveal  an  under- 
current of  modemness  that  is  cutting  away  from  the  old 
moorings,  and  sailing  through  an  unplotted  sea  towards 
the  haven  erected  by  a  socialized  Americanism.  The  un- 
dercurrent itself  is  vague.  Only  it  is  there.  And  its 
presence  is  making  for  a  city  in  ferment  in  which  much 
of  the  old,  both  good  and  bad,  is  disappearing  without 
leaving  an  effervescence. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  DENOMINATIONAL  BACKGROUND  OF  THE  CITY. 

In  our  characterization  of  the  Pennsylvania  Germans, 
one  essential  characteristic  was  omitted  intentionally  and 
reserved  for  this  chapter.  It  is  their  piety.  On  this  point 
Kuhns  writes :  "  No  one  who  has  made  a  careful  study  of 
the  habits  and  customs  of  the  German  and  Swiss  settlers 
of  Pennsylvania  in  the  eighteenth  century  can  resist  the 
conclusion  that  they  were  essentially  a  deeply  religious 
people.*'  ^  Again,  a  page  or  two  farther:  *'We  have  am- 
ple evidence  that,  scattered  as  they  were  in  the  wilder- 
ness which  then  formed  the  interior  counties  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  people  hungered  and  thirsted  for  the  word  of 
God.  *  *  *  In  fact  no  people  in  America  were  so  sub- 
ject to  religious  excitements  as  the  Germans  of  Pennsyl- 
vania during  the  eighteenth  century.  *  *  ^ 

Allentown,  as  a  center  of  Pennsylvania  German  ac- 
tivity, was  influenced  by  the  prevailing  activity.  As  a 
city  which  in  its  origin  was  almost  exclusively  Germanic, 
it  is  clear  that  the  earliest  religious  activities  were  those 
of  the  pietistic  Germans.  What  was  the  denominational 
bias  of  these  early  German  settlers!  What  imprint  was 
given  to  the  little  town  at  its  origin?  Let  us  survey  the 
background  of  the  city,  religiously  speaking,  so  that  we 
may  have  the  proper  light  for  the  study  of  today. 

The  16th  and  17th  centuries  were  an  age  of  great  re- 
ligious activity.  Men's  minds  were  pre-occupied  with 
religious  questions.  In  breaking  with  the  old  and  his- 
toric Koman  church,  ancient  standards  were  broken 
down,  and  time-honored  authority  disappeared.  It  was 
inevitable  that  in  the  evolution  of  new  religious  orders, 
sharp  differences  of  opinion  should  appear  as  to  the  trend 
which  the  new  development  should  take.  Now  here,  now 
there,  a  man  would  begin  to  teach  religious  faith  and 
truth  and  duty  as  they  looked  to  him.  He  obtained  adher- 
ents.   A  congregation  would  spring  up,  and  a  new  sect 

1  Kuhns,  supra,  p.  153. 

2  Ibid.  p.  165. 


32 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


would  come  into  being.  It  was  an  age  of  the  formation 
of  new  sects. 

*^The  Eeformation  in  England  gave  rise  to  as  many- 
sects  and  parties  as  it  did  on  the  continent.  We  may  find 
an  analogy  between  the  Lutheran  Church  and  the  Church 
of  England;  between  the  Reformed  (or  Calvinists)  and 
the  Puritans  (or  Presbyterians) ;  and  between  the  Ana- 
baptists or  Mennonites  and  the  Quakers  and  Baptists. 
This  analogy  is  no  mere  fancy;  we  know  the  influence  of 
Calvin  on  Puritanism;  the  Hanoverian  kings  of  England 
were  both  Lutheran  and  Churchmen  (the  former  in  their 
private,  the  latter  in  their  official  capacity) ;  and  modern 
church  historians  have  declared  that  it  was  from  the  Men- 
nonites that  the  General  Baptist  Church  in  England 
sprang. ' '  ^ 

Of  the  sects  most  important  in  their  relation  to  the 
New  World  are  the  Quakers.  And  of  all  the  Quakers, 
William  Penn  and  George  Fox  are  the  best  known.  Of 
the  latter,  who  is  generally  spoken  of  as  the  founder  of 
the  Quaker  movement  in  England,  Barclay  writes:  ^'We 
are  compelled  to  view  him  as  the  unconscious  exponent 
of  the  doctrines,  practise,  and  discipline  of  the  ancient 
and  stricter  party  of  the  Dutch  Mennonites.''  ^ 

Whichever  influenced  the  other,  the  fact  remains 
that  *  ^  there  were  in  Germany  a  number  of  sects,  Mennon- 
ites, Tunkers,  Schwenkf elders,  and  others  who  held  the 
same  view  as  the  Quakers.  They  were  part  of  a  great 
movement  of  thought,  sometimes  called  Quietism  (Piet- 
ism), which  towards  the  close  of  the  Reformation  had 
spread  all  over  Europe,  producing  the  Quakers  in  Eng- 
land, a  whole  host  of  sects  like  them  in  Germany,  and 
even  effecting  to  some  extent  the  people  of  Italy  and 
France.''  ^ 

As  these  historians  have  indicated,  there  developed 
in  Germany  a  movement  called  Pietism.  When  William 
Penn  became  a  Quaker,  he  was  filled  with  missionary  fer- 
vor, and  among  his  other  labors  in  the  mission  field,  were 
two  trips  to  those  sections  in  Germany  most  under  the 
sway  of  this  movement.  His  second  visit  there  coincided 
with  the  height  of  the  pietistic  movement  in  Germany. 


3  Kuhns,  pp.  32,  33. 

4  Barclay,  "Religious  Societies  of  the  Commonwealth, 
e  Fisher,  supra.,  Vol.  1.  p.  344. 


p.  77. 


study  in  Statistics 

'*Penn  was  received  with  open  arms  in  these  Pietistic 
circles,  he  was  listened  to  with  reverence  and  admiration 
by  devoted  hearers  in  the  Rhine  country. ' '  ^  And  the  ex- 
planation is  not  far  to  seek,  for  English  Quakerism  and 
German  Pietism  were  branches  of  the  same  tree,  and 
greatly  similar.  *'A  great  degree  of  similarity  existed 
between  the  doctrines  of  the  Pietist  and  the  Quaker.  A 
higher  valuation  of  emotion  and  spirituality,  as  opposed 
to  rationalism,  characterized  both  of  them;  a  life  led  in 
imitation  of  the  Savior,  a  communing  with  his  spirit,  a 
religion  of  the  heart,  supplanted  the  outward  formalism 
of  an  established  church.''  ^  Both  must  be  looked  upon 
as  a  revolt  against  the  stiff  formalism  into  which  the  es- 
tablished churches  had  fallen,  a  turning  away  from  the 
coldness  of  their  dogmatic  theologies  to  the  ecstasies  of 
religious  emotions. 

But  the  significance  of  that  journey  lay  ultimately 
not  in  the  establishment  of  intimate  relations  between 
two  similar  sects  in  two  different  countries,  but  in  the 
opening  of  a  political  and  social  movement.  For  it  stir- 
red those  waves  of  immigration  that  threatened  to  de- 
populate southwestern  Germany  and  overrun  the  new 
country  that  Penn  opened.  *'The  German  and  Dutch 
Mennonites  in  Crefield  and  Kriegsheim  had  representa- 
tives in  the  first  shipload  that  went  to  Penn's  land.''  ^ 

When  William  Penn  opened  his  tract  in  the  New 
World,  which  the  English  Crown  had  given  to  him,  he 
seems  to  have  had  in  mind  the  establishment  of  a  haven 
for  distressed  English  Quakers.  And  while  the  Quakers 
did  come  in  large  quantities,  the  movement  of  population 
from  the  Pietistic  centers  on  the  continent  developed  par- 
allel to  the  movement  of  Englishmen  from  the  very  be- 
ginning, continuing  during  the  18th  century  down  until 
the  Revolution,  and  assuming  considerable  proportions. 

There  were  many  reasons  for  this  extensive  exodus 
from  the  continent.  There  was  of  course  the  similarity 
of  religious  doctrines  and  beliefs.  But  this  is  by  no 
means  all.  The  movement  of  population  was  largely 
economic.  On  the  one  hand  was  the  wide  advertising  of 
the  political  and  economic  advantages  and  opportunities 

6  Faust,  condensed  from  p.  31, 

7  Ibid.,  Vol.  1,  p.  31.  " 

8  Ibid.,  Vol.  1,  p.  32, 


34 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


in  the  new  land,  but  the  fundamental  fact  which  prepared 
the  soil,  both  for  the  action  of  religious  influences  and  the  \ 
pretensions  of  Penn's  advertisements,  was  the  depressed 
economic  condition  of  most  of  the  sections  which  poured 
forth  their  people.  A  series  of  wars,  destructive  beyond 
comprehension  almost,  centering  largely  in  the  Palatin- 
ate and  several  other  small  German  states  along  the 
Rhine,  had  stript  the  people  of  all,  or  most,  of  their  store  1 
of  this  world's  good.  Despotic  governments,  laying  ex- 
cessive taxes  and  inflicting  tyrannical  acts  upon  their 
subjects,  had  intensified  the  widespread  poverty  and  un- 
rest. The  Palatinate  especially  had  borne  the  brunt  of  : 
these  distressing  factors.  It  had  been  the  Belgium  of 
several  wars.  The  great  bulk  of  the  population  was  in 
an  economic  and  mental  condition  to  listen  to  the  wooing 
of  the  emigrant  siren. 

Immigration  into  Pennsylvania  began,  as  intimated 
on  the  preceding  page,  in  1683.  Up  to  1710,  which  date  is 
generally  taken  as  the  close  of  the  first  epoch  of  immigra- 
tion, the  number  coming  to  Pennsylvania  was  small,  and 
religiously,  were  Mennonites  of  Dutch  and  German  na- 
tionality. After  1710,  following  the  devastation  of  the 
Palatinate  by  the  armies  of  Louis  14th  of  France,  the  tide 
assumed  larger  proportions.  Swiss  Mennonites  and  Pal- 
atines began  coming,  followed  by  Dunkards,  Schwenk- 
felders  and  other  queer  denominational  species.  They 
came  in  ever  larger  numbers,  assuming  such  proportions  j 
by  1717,  that  serious  alarm  was  excited  among  the  Eng- 
lish settlers  in  the  colony.  Kuhns  estimates  that  by  1727, 
about  15,000  German  and  Swiss  colonists  had  come  into  ■ 
Pennsylvania.  J 

After  1727,  an  official  record  was  kept  of  all  those  ^ 
who  entered  at  the  port  of  Philadelphia.  And  from  1727 
to  1775,  there  was  a  total  of  68,872.  This  plainly  shows 
one  thing,  and  that  is  that  the  movement  grew  beyond 
the  Mennonites  and  Pietistic  sects.  Fisher,  in  speaking 
of  the  coming  of  the  early  Mennonites,  continues :  ^ '  They 
came  in  great  numbers,  and  were  followed  by  German 
Lutherans  and  members  of  the  German  Reformed  church. 
Penn  and  the  Quakers  had  not  intended  to  bring  the 
Lutheran  and  Reformed.  But  the  immigration  move- 
ment once  started,  could  not  be  checked,  and  soon  the 


i 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


35 


German  peasantry  without  regard  to  religion  began  to 
swarm  into  Pennsylvania.''  ^ 

Similarly,  Faust  writes:  ^'The  three  most  important 
religious  denominations,  however,  were  the  Lutherans, 
the  German  Reformed  and  the  United  Brethren.  They 
were  not  prominent  in  the  earliest  history  of  the  German 
settlements  in  Pennsylvania,  though  they  may  have  been 
represented.  Being  far  more  numerous  in  the  mother  coun- 
try, they  were  bound  to  become  more  and  more  prominent 
as  the  current  of  German  immigration  grew  in  volume. 
This  applies  especially  to  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed. ' '  ^^ 

The  significance  of  this  historical  survey  to  our  local 
study  now  becomes  apparent.  We  have  shown  in  the  first 
chapter  that  the  earliest  German  immigrants  located  at 
Philadelphia,  the  port  of  entry,  and  in  the  territory  im- 
mediately surrounding  it,  that  the  longer  the  stream  con- 
tinued, the  farther  into  the  interior  the  new-comers  had 
to  go,  crossing  the  Susquehanna,  then  finally  going  north- 
ward and  settling  the  counties  of  Northampton  and  Le- 
high. Similarly,  an  effort  has  been  made  to  show  that 
while  the  immigrant  tide  into  Pennsylvania  began  with 
the  Pietistic  sects,  it  soon  exhausted  that  supply,  and  the 
stream,  in  its  religious  complexion,  became  Lutheran  and 
Reformed.  The  inference  naturally  is  that  the  farther, 
in  point  of  time,  one  proceeds  along  the  stream,  the  more 
Lutheran  and  Reformed  it  becomes  in  its  sectarian  color- 
ing. 

Lehigh  was  one  of  the  last  counties  to  be  occupied 
by  the  Pennsylvania  Germans.  Allentown  itself,  we  have 
noted,  was  settled  in  1762.  Historically,  therefore,  one 
would  suppose  that  Allentown  was  settled,  denomination- 
ally speaking,  by  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed.  And  since, 
as  has  been  noted,  much  of  the  present  population  not 
explained  by  natural  increase,  has  been  drawn  from  the 
surrounding  country,  also  settled  by  people  of  these  de- 
nominations, the  logical  expectation  is  to  find  Allentown 
today,  in  fact  all  through  its  history,  a  community  which, 
from  the  denominational  point  of  view,  is  and  has  been 
largely  Lutheran  and  Reformed,  with  a  sprinkling  of 
United  Brethren,  and  a  few  groups,  descendants  of  piet- 
istics  sects  that  might  have  wandered  into  the  genera] 

9  Fisher,  supra.  Vol  1,  p.  344. 

10  Faust,  supra.  Vol.  1,  p.  116. 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


section.    Let  us  proceed  now  to  examine  the  specific  sit- 
uation as  it  has  been. 

Church  Activities  From  the  Founding  of  the  City  to  1830. 

The  period  under  consideration  embraces  seven  years 
less  than  three-quarters  of  a  century.  It  is  that  period  in 
the  history  of  Allentown  which  may  be  referred  to  as  the 
village  period.  The  population  grew  from  a  dozen  fam- 
ilies at  the  time  of  its  founding  to  1,757  in  1830.  During 
this  period,  the  Reformed  and  Lutheran  churches  were 
alone  in  the  field.  Both  denominations  date  their  origin 
in  Allentown  to  the  year  that  the  town  was  founded.  In 
1762,  a  log  church  building  was  erected  by  the  Reformed 
and  Lutheran  inhabitants  of  the  town  and  vicinity,  in 
which  the  two  congregations  worshiped  alternately.  The 
site  of  this  first  humble  edifice  was  on  the  rear  of  the  lot 
where  Zion's  Reformed  Church,  the  oldest  in  the  city,  now 
stands.  The  practice  of  alternate  worship  in  the  same 
structure  lasted  for  some  years. 

However,  in  1770,  **  permission  was  granted  to  the 
congregation  (Reformed)  by  Governor  Penn  to  collect 
funds  by  means  of  a  lottery  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a 
new  church  building.*'  ^^  This  building  was  completed 
by  1776,  and  was  the  exclusive  property  of  the  Reformed 
congregation.    It  was  known  as  Zion's  Reformed  Church. 

An  interesting  point  to  note  in  connection  with  the 
history  of  this  particular  church  is  the  fact  that  the  Lib- 
erty Bell  and  the  chimes  of  Christ  church,  nine  in  number, 
were  concealed  beneath  the  floor  of  the  church  in  Sep- 
tember, 1777,  when  the  British  troops  occupied  Philadel- 
phia. During  the  years  1777  and  1778,  the  church  build- 
ing was  used  as  a  hospital  for  sick  and  wounded  Conti- 
nental soldiers. 

The  congregation  seems  to  have  grown  but  slowly, 
for  in  1782,  a  membership  of  45  families  was  reported, 
while  by  1831,  there  were  but  75  members. 

The  Lutheran  congregation,  hampered  by  ministerial 
vacancies  and  irregular  services,  continued  to  worship  in 
the  old  log  building  until  1794,  when  a  new  and  larger 
structure  was  begun  on  South  Eighth  street,  on  the  site 
now  occupied  by  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Church.  This  new 
building  was  consecrated  in  1795. 

11  "Anniversary  History  of  Lehigh  County."    Vol.  1,  p.  4J5. 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


37 


While  these  two  congregations  were  the  only  relig- 
ious organizations  which  the  period  produced,  there  were, 
nevertheless,  several  eruptions  which  indicated  that  such 
a  condition  would  not  prevail  much  longer.  During  the 
year  1820,  as  a  result  of  the  efforts  of  several  Presbyter- 
ian residents,  who  were  dissatisfied  with  the  exclusive 
use  of  the  German  language  in  the  Reformed  and  Luth- 
eran churches,  and,  it  would  seem,  with  the  general  lax- 
ity of  church  discipline,  succeeded  in  arranging  matters 
for  a  minister  of  their  faith  from  Bethlehem  to  preach 
several  times  in  Allentown.  Similarly  in  that  year,  a 
Presbjrterian  minister  from  Easton  preached  twice  in 
Allentown.  ''From  1821  to  1824,  Rev.  Robert  Russell, 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  the  'Irish  Settle- 
ment ^  preached  at  Allentown  frequently  on  Sunday  after- 
noons. Rev.  Samuel  Bowman  from  Easton,  preached 
here  several  times  during  1826;  Rev.  J.  A.  Hicks,  also  of 
Easton,  several  times  during  1827 ;  and  Rev.  L.  F.  Leake, 
a  missionary  under  the  'Domestic  Missionary  Society  of 
New  Jersey^  on  Sundays  for  six  months  in  1828,  who 
gave  special  encouragement  to  the  Sunday  School  move- 
ment in  the  town.**  ^^ 

There  was  also  some  little  activity  on  the  part  of  the 
Episcopalian  church  during  this  period.  "There  were 
religious  services  at  Allentown  in  behalf  of  the  Episcopal 
denomination  as  early  as  1825,  by  Rev.  Rodney,  of  Eas- 
ton, and  Rev.  Bowman,  of  Lancaster,  but  no  progress 
was  made  in  this  German  community  and  further  efforts 
were  abandoned  until  1858.  *  * 

Likewise  did  the  Evangelical  Association  make  an 
effort  to  enter  the  field.  Since  this  denomination  is  not  so 
widely  known,  it  may  be  not  out  of  place  to  say  a  few 
words  in  explanation.  According  to  the  venerable  and 
beloved  Bishop  Thomas  Bowman,  D.  D.,  who  is  perhaps 
as  familiar  as  any  other  man  with  the  entire  history  of 
the  denomination,  the  Evangelical  Association  originat- 
ed as  a  result  of  the  religious  activities  of  Jacob  Albright, 
a  native  of  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  at  one 
time  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Albright  was 
convicted  of  sin,  and  converted  to  God,  according  to 
Bishop  Bowman,  in  1792.  He  united  with  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  which  licensed  him  as  an  exhorter.  But 

12  Supra.,  p.  622. 


38 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


the  Methodist  Episcopals  conducting  their  services  in  the 
English  language,  Albright,  who  was  a  German,  and 
working  among  the  German  speaking  people,  felt  con- 
strained to  form  a  separate  religious  organization.  He 
began  his  labors  as  a  lay  preacher  in  1796,  and  by  1803, 
he  had  begun  the  separate  organization  and  was  licensed 
as  a  preacher.  The  movement  was  essentially  a  reforma- 
tion, growing  out  of  the  conviction  of  Albright  and  oth- 
ers, that  the  ideals  and  conditions  of  religious  life  among 
the  German  people  around  them  were  shamefully  low. 
The  doctrines  of  the  Evangelical  Association  were,  and 
are,  in  no  essential  part,  different  from  those  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  the 
government,  polity  and  methods  of  work.  It  was  begun 
purely  as  a  Germanization  of  the  English  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church. 

'^Lehigh  County  was  visited  by  Rev.  Albright  in  the 
year  1800,  at  which  time  he  preached  at  Lynnville  and 
Macungie.  Later  the  work  of  the  new  organization  was 
introduced  into  the  county  at  three  different  places,  viz: 
Upper  Milf ord.  Cedar  Creek  and  Allentown. ' '  ^^  The  at- 
tempt on  the  part  of  the  ministers  of  this  sect  to  preach 
in  Allentown  met  however  with  a  reception  that  was  far 
from  encouraging.  The  first  attempt,  made  in  1818,  end- 
ed in  ijQfnominious  failure,  due  to  the  presence  of  a  young 
man  who  disturbed  the  services  by  ridiculing  and  imitat- 
ing the  preacher.  The  faithful  were  no  doubt  much  en- 
couraged when  the  sacrilegious  youth  was  struck,  a  short 
time  afterwards,  by  a  bolt  of  lightning.  A  second  effort 
was  similarly  interrupted  when  four  men,  using  a  log  as 
a  battering  ram,  broke  down  the  door  of  the  house  where 
the  preacher  was  holding  forth.  This  so  alarmed  the  oc- 
cupant of  the  house  that  no  further  attempts  at  holding 
services  were  made. 

It  appears  that  there  were  some  Catholics  in  Allen- 
town during  this  period.  We  find  that  they  petition  the 
Governor  of  the  colony  in  1767  for  a  license  to  *'ask  as- 
sistance from  charitable  and  piously  disposed  people.^'  ^* 
There  is  no  indication  that  this  petition  was  granted,  nor 
that  any  further  effort  was  made  during  the  period  tow- 
ards erecting  a  church  for  their  use.    Such  Catholics  as 

13  Supra.,  p.  524. 

14  Penna.  Arch.  Vol.  IV.,  p.  279. 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


39 


I 


resided  in  Allentown  were  ministered  to  by  Jesuits  from 
Berks  County. 


The  Period  From  1830  to  1850. 


During  this  score  of  years,  no  additions  were  made 
to  the  number  of  Reformed  and  Lutheran  churches,  de- 
spite the  fact  that  the  population  of  the  town  more  than 
doubled.  A  growth  in  membership  in  these  two  old 
churches  there  undoubtedly  was,  but  the  main  interest 
of  this  period  lies  in  the  advent  into  the  religious  history 
of  the  city,  of  three  revolutionary  Protestant  bodies. 

The  first  to  be  noted,  as  well  as  the  first  in  point  of 
time,  was  the  Presbyterian  church.  Towards  the  close 
of  1829,  a  total  of  $335  had  been  subscribed  towards  the 
erection  of  a  building  for  use  by  the  members  of  that 
particular  faith.  ^'On  June  5th,  1830,  the  ground  was 
broken  for  the  foundation,  and  on  Thursday,  June  24th, 
at  2  p.  m.,  the  corner  stone  was  laid. '  ^  ^^  It  was  not  until 
the  next  year  however  that  an  organization  was  effected. 
*^0n  Friday,  September  30th,  1831,  the  Rev.  Alexander 
Heberton,  and  James  Kennedy,  an  Elder  in  the  Church 
at  the  'Settlement'  in  Allen  Township,  convened  in  the 
session  room,  with  others,  for  the  purpose  of  constituting 
a  Presbyterian  Church.  Five  persons  were  received  on 
examination  and  profession  of  faith,  and  three  by  certifi- 
cate, and  these  were  constituted  a  church  under  the  title: 
*  The  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Northampton. '  ' '  i« 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was  the  next  to  gain 
a  footing.     ''Through  the  religious  zeal  of  two  sisters, 
Elizabeth  and  Sarah  Muffly,  who  were  members  of  the 
M.  E.  Church  in  Bucks  County,  and  located  in  Allen- 
town,  in  1842,  the  first  efforts  were  made  in  establishing  a 
church  of  this  faith  in  the  city.''  ^'^.    At  their  request,  in 
1843,  a  minister  was  sent  to  the  city  by  the  Methodist  con- 
ference.   A  hall,  known  as  "Free  Hall"  located  on  Lin- 
en Street  near  Ninth,  was  leased.    A  lot  was  purchased 
he  next  year,  and  by  1845,  a  one-story  frame  meeting 
house  had  been  erected  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Lin- 
en and  Poplar  Streets.    With  the  adoption  of  the  con- 

15  "History   of  the   First   Presbyterian   Church,   Allentown,   Pa." 
W.  Wood,  D.  D.    p.  9. 

16  Wood,  op.  cit.,  page  10. 

.17  Anniversary  History,  supra.,  Vol.  1,  p.  521. 


46 


The  Churches  of  Alleniown 


stitution  on  September  2nd,  1845,  the  process  of  introduc-^ 
ing  the  new  denomination  was  complete. 

Finally,  the  Evangelical  Association  made  another 
effort  to  begin  formal  work  in  the  city.  In  1835,  a  man 
named  John  Grove  opened  his  home  to  a  minister  of  this 
sect.  Other  Evangelical  preachers  preached  in  the  pub- 
lic square  on  Sunday  afternoons,  and  finally  in  1838,  the 
first  Evangelical  congregation  in  the  city  was  organized, 
and  a  church  building  was  erected  at  Ninth  and  Linden 
Streets.    It  was  dedicated  on  November  26th,  1838. 

The  establishment  of  these  new  Protestant  denomin- 
ations, with  their  strange  beliefs  and  new  customs,  was 
not  effected  without  considerable  difficulty.  When,  in 
1832,  the  Presbyterians  began  holding  revival  services, 
the  first  in  this  region,  the  other  churches,  i.  e.,  the  Re- 
formed and  Lutheran  churches,  were  far  from  favorably 
disposed  to  the  innovation.  The  Presbyterians  met  with 
personal  insult  on  the  street,  private  prayer  meetings 
were  disturbed,  rationalism  and  infidelity  were  publicly 
advocated  in  the  town.  Rev.  Jacob  Helfenstein,  who 
came  to  the  church  as  a  temporary  supply,  in  1835,  was 
rather  frank  in  his  condemnation  of  sin,  and  we  read  of  the 
following  interesting  effect  upon  the  town:  *^  *  *  *  In 
others,  as  has  often  occurred  in  connection  with  the  Spir- 
it's work,  the  latent  enmity  of  the  heart  against  God 
found  occasion  for  a  violent  development,  and  an  intense- 
ly malicious  form  of  infidelity  came  to  the  surface.  Some, 
with  less  effrontery,  but  with  a  more  subtle  skepticism, 
turned  in  to  rail  on  Christ,  and  hands  that  had  handled 
the  bread  and  wine  of  the  Holy  Supper,  joined  the  hands 
of  professional  despisers  to  erect  the  ^Free  Hall,'  where 
a  motley  crowd  would  go  to  chuckle  over  the  blasphemies 
against  the  Crucified  King.  The  mouthpiece  by  which 
this  infidelity  found  vent,  in  part,  was  one  Grinall,  of 
whom  Rev.  Helfenstein  says:  ^ Never  did  ranker  infidel- 
ity drop  from  the  lips  of  men  than  on  one  occasion  I  lis- 
tened to  from  that  wretched  deceiver,  and  what  is  sad  to 
tell,  many  of  his  supporters  were  church  members.  In 
vain  did  I  ask  for  permission  to  reply — the  proposal  was 
met  by  a  stern  and  bitter  refusal. '  Dr.  Helfenstein  would 
have  been  mobbed,  says  one  who  was  an  eye  witness,  had 
not  the  judicious  remonstrance  of  John  S.  Gibbons,  Esq., 


di 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


41 


prevailed/*  ^^  When  one  considers  the  situation  as  it 
then  existed,  with  but  a  Reformed  and  Lutheran  church 
in  the  town,  the  reference  to  '*  hands  that  handled  the 
bread  and  wine  of  the  Holy  Supper"  and  to  the  fact  that 
**niany  of  his  supporters  were  church  members'*  would 
indicate  that  the  relations  between  the  old  churches  and 
the  new  reforming  congregation  with  its  frank  preach- 
ing, were  not  overly  cordial. 

The  Methodists  probably  fared  worse  than  the  Pres- 
byterians at  the  hands  of  townsfolk.  Their  revival  meet- 
ings, while  most  successful  from  the  Methodist  point  of 
view,  met  with  considerable  opposition  from  other 
sources.  Warm-hearted  converts  were  arrested  and  put 
to  jail  on  the  rather  peculiar  charge  of  assault  and  bat- 
tery. Parents  came  to  the  meetings  forcibly  to  take  away 
their  children,  and  resisting  children  seem  too,  to  have 
landed  behind  the  bars.  The  brethren  intensified  bitter- 
ness against  them  in  many  quarters,  when  they  encour- 
aged the  children  to  resist  their  parents,  who,  they  felt, 
had  no  right  thus  openly  to  disturb  the  meetings.  When 
the  Methodists  erected  their  little  one-story  frame  build- 
ing, and  finished  it  in  a  neat  manner,  adding  carpets  and 
Venetian  blinds,  the  unsympathetic  community  most 
readily  accused  them  of  the  guilt  of  worldly  pride. 

The  Evangelical  worshippers  were  the  supreme  object 
of  molestation  and  ridicule  from  the  community.  The 
Evangelical  ministers  *^were  compelled  to  suffer  many 
insults  and  indignities,  because,  as  in  the  days  of  the 
Apostles,  this  'new  sect*  was  everywhere  spoken 
against.**  ^^  Joshua  Fink,  having  opened  his  home  to  the 
ministers,  was  ostracized  to  such  an  extent  that  he  was 
compelled  to  move  to  a  small  village  outside  of  Allen- 
town  to  find  employment  to  support  his  family.  ^^  Stones 
were  thrown  at  the  preachers,  hoodlums  of  the  town  or- 
ganized excursions  to  break  up  prayer  meetings  at  the 
private  homes  of  the  members  of  the  congregation.  So- 
cial stigma  was  attached  for  many  years  to  membership 
in  an  Evangelical  church,  and  the  present  generation  is 
not  entirely  free  from  it.  This  has  been  our  repeated 
observation. 


18  Cf.  Wood,  op.  cit.,  p.  13. 

19  Anniversary  History.  Vol.  1. 

20  Ibid.,  p.  627. 


p.  627. 


42  The  Churches  of  Allentown 

One  aspect  of  the  unsatisfactory  relationship  be- 
tween the  Methodists  and  Presbyterians  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  Reformed  and  Lutherans  on  the  other  hand 
has  been  intentionally  reserved  for  this  point.  This  was 
the  language  difference.  The  German  language,  since 
the  very  origin  of  the  Reformed  and  Lutheran  churches, 
was  the  principal  medium  of  social  and  religious  inter- 
course. The  early  pioneers  naturally  preferred  to  wor- 
ship God  in  their  mother  tongue,  and  desired  their  chil- 
dren to  do  likewise.  Hence  when  the  Methodists  and 
Presbyterians  began  holding  English  services,  they  were 
introducing  some  newfangled  thing  which  threatened  the 
Church's  one  foundation.  It  was  a  dangerous  innovation 
which  self-respecting  citizens  could  not  tolerate  and  still 
retain  their  self-respect. 

By  1850,  there  were  in  Allentown,  five  churches.  On 
the  one  hand  exist  the  Reformed  and  Lutheran — old, 
established,  prosperous,  conservative,  proud  of  their  tra- 
ditions, despising  and  ridiculing  such  innovations  as  re- 
vivals, fearless  preaching,  the  English  language,  and  the 
like.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were  three  upstart,  re- 
forming churches,  the  Presbyterians,  Methodists  and 
Evangelicals.  These  were  strict  in  their  discipline,  ac- 
tive, eager  to  proselyte,  zealous  in  what  was  termed  the 
work  of  the  Lord,  holding  revivals,  meeting  at  private 
homes  to  pray,  insisting  on  a  strict  observance  of  the 
Sabbath  and  the  various  injunctions  of  the  organization. 
The  situation  marks  the  beginning  of  a  definite  and  open 
cleavage  in  Allentown  Protestantdom,  the  end  of  which 
is  not  yet. 

Church  Development  From  1850  to  1890. 

This  period,  as  indicated  in  the  first  chapter,  was  a 
period  during  which  a  peaceful  little  town  of  3,700  peo- 
ple was  transformed  into  a  busy  industrial  city  of  25,000. 
The  religious  developments  of  the  period,  will,  for  the 
purpose  of  convenience,  be  treated  under  three  sub- 
headings: a.  The  growth  and  development  of  facilities 
for  worship  in  the  older,  more  firmly  established.  Reform- 
ed and  Lutheran  churches;  b.  The  fortunes  of  the  new 
sects  that  gained  a  foothold  in  the  previous  period ;  c.  The 
newest  denominational  groups  added. 


I 


A  8tudy  in  Statistics  43 

Let  us  deal  then  first  with  the  development  in 
the  older  and  more  firmly  established  denominations. 
Turning  to  the  Reformed  faith,  we  find  that  Zion's  church 
was  the  sole  Reformed  church  in  Allentown  until  1866. 
Its  growth  since  1831,  when  a  membership  of  75  was  re- 
ported, was  rapid.  In  1860,  a  total  of  1,200  members  was 
reported.  But  since  the  middle  of  the  century,  the  young- 
er members  of  the  congregation,  influenced  by  the  new- 
comers to  the  city's  population  and  by  the  public 
schools  which  introduced  an  entire  English  curriculum, 
began  to  grow  restless  with  the  exclusive  use  in  church 
services  of  the  German  language.  An  occasional  Eng- 
lish service  was  finally  thrown  to  this  element  as  a  sop, 
but  this  did  not  satisfy  the  pressing  want,  and  in  1865, 
some  bold  and  venturesome  spirits  began  to  take  meas- 
ures looking  towards  the  organization  of  a  separate  and 
exclusively  English  Reformed  church.  Such  a  step,  fifty 
years  ago  in  Allentown,  was  no  light  matter.  But  after 
some  negotiations,  in  January,  1886,  the  organization  of 
the  new  church  was  perfected  and  given  the  name  of  *  ^  St. 
John's  English  Reformed  Church.''  The  new  building 
was  completed  in  1869,  and  is  located  at  Sixth  and  Wal- 
nut Streets. 

In  1875,  some  sixty  or  more  members  from  Zion's 
and  St.  John's  churches,  formed  a  third  Reformed  con- 
gregation in  the  city,  finally  locating  on  Chew  street,  be- 
tween Sixth  and  Seventh.  It  might  be  added  here  that 
this  is  now  the  largest  Reformed  congregation  in  the 
United  States,  having  some  1800  members,  and  worship- 
ping in  a  beautiful  edifice,  erected  at  a  cost  of  over 
$100,000.    It  is  known  as  Salem's  Reformed  Church. 

The  next  year,  1876,  in  July,  a  fourth  Reformed  con- 
gregation was  formed  in  the  extreme  lower,  or  eastern 
part  of  the  city.  Not  a  single  member  was  taken  from 
any  of  the  other  Reformed  churches,  proof  conclusive 
of  the  need  and  opportunity  for  the  church  in  that  sec- 
tion. 

The  year  1890  saw,  therefore,  four  Reformed 
churches,  all  in  flourishing  circumstances.  The  Reform- 
ed people  had  shown  themselves  alive  to  the  growth  of 
the  city,  and  had  used  good  judgment  in  the  location  of 
their  additional  organizations.  Despite  the  traditional 
prejudices  against  the  use  of  the  English  language  in 


44 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


church  services,  the  mother  church  had  shown  a  coi 
mendable  judiciousness,  aiding  and  abetting  an  element 
within  itself  that  hungered  after  Anglo-linguistic  flesh- 
pots.  These  four  churches  reported,  in  1890,  a  total  of 
2,565  members,  of  whom  2,167  communed  at  least  once 
during  the  year. 

Turning  to  the  Lutheran  church,  one  finds  a  similar 
unrest  developing  after  the  middle  of  the  century  with 
reference  to  the  language  question.  In  1852,  steps  were 
taken  looking  towards  the  erection  of  a  separate  English 
Lutheran  church.  The  results  of  this  intended  move- 
ment were  not  as  peaceful  as  of  the  same  action  some 
years  later  by  an  element  in  the  Reformed  church.  For 
no  sooner  did  the  English  element  among  the  Lutherans 
decide  upon  a  new  church,  and  plan  for  the  erection  of 
a  separate  building,  than  the  old  German  element  de- 
cided to  rebuild  their  church,  thus  rendering  both  pro- 
jects uncertain  of  success.  The  matter  was,  however, 
amicably  adjusted  at  last,  and  a  structure  erected  by  the 
English  element  at  Fifth  and  Maple  streets.  On  July 
16th,  1855,  the  congregation  was  organized,  and  the  name 
of  St.  John's  English  Lutheran  Church  was  assumed. 
This  congregation  grew  rapidly,  beginning  with  39  mem- 
bers in  1855,  and  reporting  450  in  1885. 

In  1866,  the  situation  in  the  eastern  section  of  the 
city,  known  as  ^' Mingo,''  appeared  to  the  Lutheran  fa- 
thers of  the  city  to  warrant  the  establishment  of  a  church 
in  that  section,  and  on  July  3rd,  1866,  the  organization 
of  this,  the  third  Lutheran  church  in  the  city,  was  effect- 
ed. The  name  of  St.  Peter's  was  adopted.  The  German 
language  was  used  exclusively  in  the  services  until  after 
the  period  under  consideration  in  this  chapter. 

Meanwhile  a  serious  dissension  had  arisen  within 
the  Lutheran  fold.  ^' About  1850  there  set  in  a  decided 
reaction  in  favor  of  the  faith  which  had  for  centuries  dis- 
tinguished the  Lutheran  church,  and  which  was  emblaz- 
oned on  her  banner  as  it  was  first  unfurled  on  these 
shores."  ^^  The  results  of  this  reaction  were  sharp  con- 
troversies, painful  alienations  and  other  untoward  inci- 
dents. Finally  in  1866,  there  was  an  open  breach,  and 
the  Pennsylvania  Synod  formally  severed  its  connection 


I 


I 

I 


n  "The  Lutherans  in  America."    Edmund  Jacob  Wolf,  D.  D.  1889. 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


45 


I 


with  the  General  Synod,  and  there  was  formed  the  Gen- 
eral Council  as  opposed  to  the  General  Synod. 

The  dissension  which  led  to  this  rupture  lies  outside 
of  the  purpose  of  this  study.  One  is  concerned  with  it 
here  only  in  so  far  as  it  effected  the  situation  in  the  field 
of  this  study.  And  effects  soon  followed.  In  January, 
1859,  Rev.  William  G.  Mennig  was  elected  to  the  pastor- 
ate of  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Church.  ^^His  preaching  pro- 
duced a  deep  spiritual  impression  resulting  in  a  genuine 
revival  of  religion.  The  ^revival  meetings'  however  did 
not  receive  the  endorsement  of  a  considerable  number  of 
the  members,  who  stigmatized  these  special  services  as 
'new  measures.'  The  minority,  moreover,  secured  the  un- 
warranted interference  of  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsyl- 
vania (General  Council).  This  in  due  time  induced  the 
pastor  and  the  church  to  sever  their  connection  with 
that  body,  and  to  unite  with  the  Synod  of  Eastern  Penn- 
sylvania (General  Synod),  the  latter  in  1872,  the  former 
in  the  year  following. 

''But  they  were  not  suffered  to  go  in  peace.  Their 
opponents  instituted  legal  proceedings  for  the  possession 
of  the  property,  chiefly  on  the  ground  that  the  East  Penn- 
sylvania Synod  was  not  truly  Lutheran.  In  a  bitter,  long, 
expensive  and  now  classic  trial,  St.  Paul's,  the  East 
Pennsylvania  Synod  and  the  General  Synod  were  com- 
pletely vindicated  by  favorable  decisions  in  the  local 
and  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State.  The  losers  im- 
mediately (in  1875)  organized  St.  Michael's  Church."  ^^ 

In  February,  1875,  regular  services  were  begun  by 
this  newest  congregation,  123  members  casting  their  lot 
with  the  venture.  The  next  year  the  name  St.  Michael's 
was  adopted,  and  in  1877  the  edifice  was  completed  at  a 
cost  of  about  $20,000.  German  services  were  exclusively 
maintained  until  in  1883,  when  an  English  evening  ser- 
vice was  introduced  to  keep  the  restless  elements  quiet. 
In  that  year,  1883,  the  membership  reported  was  550. 
The  church  is  located  at  Ninth  and  Turner  streets. 

In  1885,  a  Sunday  School  movement  was  started  in 
the  northwestern  part  of  the  city  by  Rev.  and  Mrs.  J.  A. 
Scheffer.  Services  were  held  at  first  in  a  public  school 
room.     Preaching  services  began     shortly     afterwards 


22  "St.  Paul's  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  a  History." 
A.  Griess.    1912.    p.  7. 


George 


46 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


both  in  the  German  and  English  languages. 
1889,  a  one-story  frame  chapel  was  erected 


Finally  in 

on    North 

Seventh  street,  near  Liberty,  and  St.  Luke's  Lutheran 


Church,  as  it  is  known,   was   definitely 
located. 


organized    and 


Evidently  as  the  result  of  internal  dissension,  in 
answer  to  a  call  in  the  newspapers  of  Allentown,  about 
100  persons  assembled  on  the  evening  of  February  4th, 
1890,  in  a  vacant  store  room  for  the  purpose  of  consider- 
ing the  propriety  of  establishing  another  English  Luth- 
eran church.  It  was  determined  to  organize  a  congrega- 
tion under  the  General  Synod.  The  congregation  was 
organized  on  February  23rd,  and  Rev.  Charles  E.  Hay, 
pastor  of  St.  PauPs  Church,  this  city,  was  elected  pas- 
tor, resigning  his  charge  in  St.  PauPs. 

By  the  close  of  the  church  year,  in  1890,  there  were, 
therefore,  six  Lutheran  churches  in  Allentown.  Four  of 
them,  St.  John's,  St.  Peter's,  St.  Michael's  and  St.  Luke's, 
were  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  General  Council.  Two 
of  them,  St.  Paul's  and  the  newly  organized  church, 
known  as  St.  Matthew's,  were  within  the  fold  of  the  Gen- 
eral Synod.  The  combined  confirmed  membership  of 
these  six  churches  in  this  year  was  2,459.  This  member- 
ship was  106  less  than  that  of  the  Reformed  churches  in 
the  same  year,  who  had,  as  has  been  indicated,  but  four 
organizations.  Taking  simply  the  four  churches  of  the 
General  Council,  which  has  been  the  chief  competitor  of 
the  Reformed  church  in  this  section,  it  is  found  that  the 
total  membership  was  but  1,919.  The  history  of  the  Luth- 
eran church  in  Allentown  during  this  period  is  marked  by 
internal  dissensions,  legal  tangles,  bad  spirit,  strife,  bick- 
erings, wrangles  concerning  questions  of  faith  and  ''new 
measures,"  all  of  which  led  to  wasteful  duplication  of 
organization  and  church  building,  as  well  as  smaller 
gains  of  membership  per  annum.  Numerous  citizens  be- 
came disgusted  with  the  course  of  events  in  the  Luth- 
eran church,  and  while  the  writer  was  engaged  in  investi- 
gations relative  to  this  thesis,  there  were  still  to  be  found 
old  residents  whose  lukewarmness  towards  their  one- 
time church  was  ascribed  to  the  strife  of  these  early  days. 

b.  The  fortunes  of  the  new  sects  that  gained  a  foot- 
hold in  the  previous  period. 


A  Study  in  Statistics  4lf 

The  three  sects  which,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  en- 
tered the  religious  arena  of  Allentown  in  the  previous 
period,  met  with  varying  fortunes. 

The  Presbyterian  church  added  no  additional  con- 
gregation during  these  forty  years.  The  work  of  this 
denomination  was  confined  to  their  one  congregation.  Im- 
mediately after  the  middle  of  the  century,  it  grew  in  a 
most  satisfactory  manner.  *  ^  At  nearly  every  communion 
there  continued  to  be  additions  to  the  church,  and  in  the 
years  1852-1853,  there  were  large  in-gatherings  of  souls 
by  conversion  and  profession. ' '  ^^  But  the  preachers  that 
served  the  congregation  during  the  disturbed  days  im- 
mediately preceding  and  during  the  Civil  War  had  def- 
inite convictions  and  expressed  them  wisely  or  otherwise 
in  their  public  addresses,  a  fact  which  *  *  greatly  distract- 
ed and  rent  the  church;  families  gave  up  their  pews 
in  disgust  and  anger,  and  those  who  attended  no  church 
were  not  permanently  attached  to  this.*'  ^^  In  1865,  there 
were  but  130  members  on  the  roll,  and  but  70  who  were 
actively  interested  in  the  church.  In  that  year,  a  new 
preacher  came,  and  from  then  on  there  were  ^*  evidences 
of  the  Holy  Spirit's  presence  in  the  attention  given  to 
the  preached  Word ' '  for  the  preacher  began  by  delivering 
**a  series  of  discourses  on  the  geography  and  history  of 
the  lands  of  the  Bible,  and  on  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  people,  explanatory  of  the  Scriptures,''  which  it 
seems  *' served  to  conciliate  and  interest  the  people,  so 
that  attendance  was  encouragingly  increased."  ^  From 
this  time  on,  there  seems  to  have  been  a  slow  and  steady 
growth  of  membership,  and  the  ^'conciliated"  worship- 
pers expressed  the  *'Holy  Spirit's  presence"  in  the  at- 
tention they  gave  to  collections  for  enlarging  and  beau- 
tifying the  sacred  edifice. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  grew  slowly  dur- 
ing this  forty-year  period.  Under  the  system  of  itineracy, 
preacher  followed  preacher  in  rapid  succession,  most  of 
them  serving  the  congregation  but  for  a  year  and  then 
removing  to  another  field.  ,  The  size  of  the  congregation 
fluctuated  with  the  personality  of  the  preacher.  In  1868, 
almost  a  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  church  had  been 

23  Wood,  supra.,  p.  19. 

24  Ibid.,  p.  21. 

25  Ibid.,  p.  22. 


48 


The  Churches  of  AUe^town 


begun,  the  building  was  enlarged  by  adding  another 
story.  This,  perhaps,  serves  as  well  as  any  statement  to 
indicate  the  growth  during  these  years. 

In  March,  1872,  four  men  became  active  in  the  for- 
mation of  a  second  church  of  this  brand  of  orthodoxy. 
Revival  meetings  were  started,  and  after  the  newly  form- 
ed band  numbered  22,  a  one-story  frame  building  was 
erected,  and  Calvary  M.  E.  Church  was  in  existence.  In 
1889,  this  humble  structure  was  enlarged  to  answer  the 
requirements  of  the  increasing  membership. 

The  difficulties  and  ridicule  under  which  the  Evan- 
gelical denomination  made  its  advent  into  the  city  have 
been  pointed  out.  But  despite  these,  the  Evangelical 
church  prospered  and  grew  tremendously  during  this 
period.  In  1858,  the  membership  of  the  Initial  church, 
established  in  1838  and  known  as  the  Linden  Street 
Church,  was  166.  The  building  used  for  worship  was, 
by  that  time,  too  small  for  the  membership,  and  in  1857, 
the  frame  chapel  was  sold  and  a  new  and  larger  church 
edifice  was  erected  on  Linden  street  west  of  Ninth  street. 

Meanwhile,  in  1850,  a  second  Evangelical  congrega- 
tion had  been  organized  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town, 
embraced  by  the  First  Ward.  This  second  congregation 
was  known  as  ^  ^  Immanuel  Evangelical  Church. '  *  It  con- 
sisted for  twenty  years  of  a  small  group,  worshipping  in 
a  36  by  45  frame  chapel.  But  in  1870,  there  had  been  a 
sufficient  increase  in  the  membership  to  warrant  the  con- 
struction of  the  commodious  building  used  since  that  day 
to  the  present  time. 

Both  of  these  congregations  worshipped  in  the  Ger- 
man language.  But  the  Evangelical  church  has  never 
been  insistingly  conservative,  and  as  a  result,  despite  the 
fact  that  the  general  organization  had  been  called  into 
being  as  a  Germanization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  de- 
nomination, it  was  decided  that  the  time  was  ripe  for  a 
congregation  exclusively  English.  Out  of  this  realiza- 
tion, Ebenezer  Church,  the  third  Evangelical  church  in 
the  city,  grew  in  1868.  The  same  year  a  lowly,  one-story 
frame  chapel  was  completed.  But  the  congregation  grew 
most  rapidly,  and  the  chapel  proved  unable  to  hold  the 
growing  membership.  Accordingly,  in  1889  a  lot  was 
purchased  on  Turner  street  between  Sixth  and  Seventh 


! 


A  Study  in  Statistics  49 

streets,  and  the  beautiful  and  roomy  building,  still  used 
^by  the  congregation,  was  erected. 

r  A  fourth  Evangelical  congregation  was  formed  in 
1874  to  meet  the  opportunities  created  by  the  growth  of 
the  city  towards  the  north.  Zion's  church  was  located 
on  Liberty  street  and  a  building  erected  which  is  still 
used  by  the  congregation  as  a  place  of  worship. 

At  the  close  of  our  period,  by  the  year  1890,  there 
were  four  Evangelical  congregations  in  the  city,  four 
flourishing,  active  organizations,  each  worshipping  in  a 
pretentious  and  commodious  church  edifice.  The  com- 
bined membership  of  the  four  churches  was  1,226.  Be- 
ginning their  career  in  the  city  76  years  later  than  the 
Reformed  and  Lutheran  churches,  ridiculed  and  molested 
and  subjected  to  various  indignities,  they  had  as  many 
churches  in  the  city  as  the  Reformed  denomination,  and 
about  half  as  many  members  as  either  of  the  two  older 
organizations.  Truly  can  it  be  said  that  their  record  up 
to  1890  was  such  as  to  signify  that  henceforth  their  de- 
nomination would  play  an  active  part  in  the  religious 
life  of  the  city. 

c.  There  remains  to  be  considered  the  story  of  the 
various  denominational  groups  who  gained  a  foothold  in 
the  city  during  the  forty-year  period  under  consideration. 
Recalling  the  fact  that  during  this  time  the  population 
of  the  city  was  multiplied  by  seven,  we  would  naturally 
expect  that  denominations  unrepresented  in  the  little 
town  of  1850,  would  gain  a  foothold  on  the  wings  of  a  sev- 
en hundred  per  cent  increase  of  population. 

The  first  new  denomination  to  be  considered  is  the 
Y      Protestant  Episcopal.    In  1858,  **Rev.  Azariah  Prior  was 

I  Bent  to  Allentown  and  he  conducted  services  mostly  in 
the  Court  House  for  three  years,  and  different  clergymen 
preached  for  a  year.  In  September,  1862,  under  orders 
from  the  Board  of  Missions,  Rev.  E.  N.  Potter  entered 
^  upon  his  duties  here,  and  from  October  5th  the  preaching 
Hpby  him  was  regular  every  Sunday.  Efforts  were  made 
^  looking  to  the  establishment  of  a  church  and  these  were 
finally  successful  after  persevering  for  three  years.  A 
lot  was  secured  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Linden  and 
Fifth  streets,  and  there  the  corner  stone  was  laid,  April 


■ 


k 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 

18th,  1865/'  2^    Thus  was  established  Grace  Episcopaf 
Church  in  Allentown. 

Mission  work,  with  the  object  of  extending  the  work 
of  the  Episcopal  church  in  the  Sixth  Ward,  was  also 
begun.  Services  were  conducted  in  this  section,  and  u 
second  church  of  this  faith  was  established  in  1869.  Ser- 
vices were  held  therein  until  1886,  when,  for  want  of  prop- 
er support,  it  was  closed. 

The  Episcopal  church  in  Allentown,  after  this  un- 
successful venture,  remained,  for  the  remainder  of  the 
period,  bound  up  with  the  fortunes  of  the  one  congrega- 
tion at  Linden  and  Fifth  streets.  This  congregation 
grew  slowly.  The  membership  in  1890  was  about  200. 
The  traditional  nationality  of  the  Episcopal  faith  was  not 
such  as  to  fit  into  a  German  community. 

It  was  inevitable  that  a  denomination  as  numerically 
important  throughout  the  country  as  the  Baptist  church 
should  sooner  or  later  make  its  advent  into  the  city's 
religious  life.  It  is  rather  to  be  commented  upon  that  its 
advent  came  at  such  a  late  date.  For  it  was  not  until 
1858,  four  years  less  than  a  century  after  the  founding  of 
the  city,  that  '^  three  members  of  the  Baptist  denomina- 
tion at  Allentown,  with  letters  of  dismissal  from  their 
respective  churches,  united  to  organize  a  congregation 
of  their  own  faith  and  accordingly  held  a  meeting  in 
Breinig'S  Hall  on  Tuesday  evening,  September  21,  1858.'* 
Services  were  conducted  in  the  Court  House  for  about  six 
years,  when,  in  1864,  a  lot  was  secured  at  Sixth  and  Chew 
streets,  and  the  erection  of  a  building  begun.  This  build- 
ing was  completed  in  1867  at  a  cost  of  $11,680.  The  mem- 
bership in  that  year  was  59.  The  membership  twenty- 
three  years  later,  at  the  end  of  the  period  covered  in 
this  chapter,  was  199.  The  growth  of  membership  can 
therefore  be  said  to  have  been  satisfactory,  but  gave  no 
indication  of  playing  a  role  compared  to  that  of  the  old- 
er denominations,  such  as  the  Reformed  and  Lutheran, 
or  like  that  presaged  by  the  virile  Evangelical  flocks. 

The  United  Brethren  in  Christ  church  is  another 
newcomer  during  this  period.  The  United  Brethren  in 
Christ  must  not  be  confused  with  the  Moravians,  or  Un- 
ited Brethren,  as  they  are  frequently  called.    The  United 


26  "Anniversary  History  of  Lehigh  County."    Vol.  1.  p.  522. 


J 


A  Study  in  Statistics  Si 

Brethren  in  Christ  originated  in  the  United  States  about 
the  year  1800.  Altho  it  is  denied  that  the  church  was 
founded  in  imitation  of  Methodism,  yet  it  is  certain  that 
the  latter  exerted  a  great  deal  of  influence  on  the  former. 
The  two  founders  of  this  denomination  were  Martin 
Boehm,  a  Mennonite  pastor,  and  Philipp  Otterbein,  a 
native  of  Prussia,  and  a  peculiarly  spiritually-minded  Re- 
formed clergyman.  **Both  Boehm  and  Otterbein  exper- 
ienced conversion  in  the  genuine  Methodist  sense  of  the 
word,  and  both,  moved  by  the  spirit,  began  to  preach  a 
heart-felt  religion.  Great  success  attended  their  efforts, 
and  thousands  crowded  their  revival  services.  In  1768, 
at  one  of  these  meetings,  they  met  for  the  first  time,  and 
falling  on  each  other *s  neck  cried  out:  *Wir  sind 
Brueder.^  ''  27 

It  was  from  this  incident  that  the  church  organiza- 
tion, later  formed,  took  its  name  of  United  Brethren  in 
Christ.  The  new  organization,  finally  formed,  as  above 
indicated,  in  about  the  year  1800,  had  a  number  of  Meth- 
odistic  features,  as  the  practise  of  revivals,  the  system  of 
itinerant  preachers,  elders  and  conferences.  The  United 
Brethren  in  Christ  were  originally  composed  almost  en- 
tirely of  Pennsylvania  Germans,  and  are  now  made  up 
largely  of  their  descendants. 

It  was  not  until  1864  that  Allentown  was  selected  as 
an  inviting  field  of  activity  by  the  United  Brethren  in 
Christ  church.  In  that  year  a  congregation  was  organiz- 
ed in  the  city  with  54  members.  In  1866,  *'Free  Hall,^' 
at  the  corner  of  Ninth  and  Linden  streets,  was  purchas- 
ed. The  congregation  now  numbered  118,  and  the  rapid 
gain  in  membership  foretokened  a  roseate  future.  But 
the  coming  years  failed  to  bear  out  the  promise  of  the 
first  two  years.  No  additional  congregations  had  been 
organized  by  1890.  This  one  congregation,  known  as 
Zion  U.  B.  Church,  had  increased  its  membership  to  169 
by  1870,  and  twenty  years  later,  at  the  close  of  our  period, 
it  was  but  207.  Like  the  Presbyterians,  Episcopalians 
and  Baptists,  the  United  Brethren  denomination  held  on, 
it  grew  slowly,  measured  by  certain  standards  even  sat- 
isfactorily, but  like  the  others  named,  it  was  of  second- 
ary importance,  numerically  speaking. 

27  Kuhns,  supra.,  p.  188. 


52 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


In  1867,  a  reform  branch  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  located  a  congregation  in  Allentown.  This  de- 
nomination was  organized  in  1860,  and  has  been  known 
as  the  Free  Methodist  church.  Its  doctrine,  articles  and 
rules  are,  to  a  great  extent,  similar  to  those  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church.  The  Free  Methodists  are  Meth-^' 
odists,  only  more  so.  Converts  are  placed  on  probation 
for  a  period  before  they  are  admitted  to  full  member- 
ship. All  members  are  positively  prohibited  from  form-ll 
ing  any  connection  with  secret  societies,  or  from  using 
tobacco  or  liquor  in  any  form.  The  local  congregation 
was  organized  with  four  members.  For  some  years,  ser- 
vices were  held  in  a  private  home,  after  which,  in  1884 
a  small  frame  chapel  was  erected  at  Eighth  and  Chew 
streets.  The  membership  in  1884  was  20.  By  1890,  there 
were  52  members  in  full  standing,  with  8  probationers,  .^ 
making  a  total  of  60.  !■ 

In  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  it  was  pointed  out 
that  the  earliest  Germans  coming  into  Pennsylvania  were 
largely  of  the  Mennonite  faith,  but  that  the  later  German 
immigrants,  including  those  who  settled  in  Lehigh  Coun- 
ty, were  Lutheran  and  Reformed.    One  would  therefore 
expect  very  little,  if  any,  activity  on  the  part  of  the  Men^H 
nonites  in  this  section.    Nor  do  the  local  facts  disprove  '^ 
our  expectations.     The  Mennonite  type  of  worship  was 
not  formally  represented  in  Allentown  before  1886.    And 
the  peculiar  brand  of  Mennonite  belief  introduced  was  ^ 
that  held  by  a  reform  wing  of  the  general  MennonitelB 
church,  indigenous  to  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  and  known 
as  the  ** Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ.'*     The  founder 
of  this  sect  is  Rev.  William  Gehman,  who  was  born  ii^H 
Berks  County,  Pa.,  and  began  life  as  a  farmer  near  Al-  ™ 
lentown.    For  eight  years  he  was  a  preacher  in  the  Old 
Mennonite  church,  also  known  as  the  Oberholtzer  Men- 
nonites,  and  who  had  separated  from  the  main  body  of  ™ 
Mennonites  in  this  country.    Around  the  middle  of  th^ll 
century.  Rev.  Gehman,  and  several    other     Oberholtzer 
Mennonites,  withdrew  from  their  organization,  and  in 
1853,  began  still  another  Mennonite  organization.     The|B 
official  name  which  this  new  organization  assumed  was ' 
^^The  Evangelical  Mennonite  Association, '*    while    the 
term  **new  Mennonites"  was  the  one  popularly  applied 


^ 


i 


II 


A  Study  in  Statistics  53 

to  them.  In  1879,  the  name  was  changed  to  **Mennon- 
ite  Brethren  in  Christ/' 

Their  church  policy  was  at  first  patterned  after  that 
of  the  church  from  which  they  came,  but  they  become 
more  and  more  Methodistic  in  their  doctrines  as  the  years 
went  by,  and  gradually  they  adopted  the  Methodist  form 
of  church  government  as  exemplified  then  in  the  Evan- 
gelical churches.  Mr.  H.  H.  Romig,  in  a  contributed  ar- 
ticle on  this  sect  in  the  Lehigh  County  Anniversary  His- 
tory, summarizes  them  in  these  words:  "These  Mennon- 
ites  are  a  very  strict,  honest  and  zealous  people;  ob- 
serve feet  washing  and  are  opposed  to  war,  infant  bap- 
tisms, and  secret  societies.  *  *  *  They  have  introduced 
some  new  methods  of  work  by  sustaining,  in  addition  to 
the  regular  work,  two  separate  departments,  known  as 
"Gospel  Heralds'^  and  "Gospel  Workers,'*  the  former 
consisting  of  men,  the  latter  of  women.  They  wear  uni- 
forms and  preach  and  perform  deeds  of  love  in  a  way 
similar  to  that  of  the  Salvation  Army. ' '  ^* 

In  1886,  certain  members  of  the  Mennonite  Brethren 
in  Christ  began  to  hold  meetings  in  a  private  home,  with 
a  view  of  establishing  a  congregation  in  the  city.  These 
meetings  were  continued  for  three  years,  then,  in  1889, 
they  succeeded  in  erecting  a  small  frame  chapel  on  Gor- 
don street,  above  Eighth.  There  were  13  active  members 
in  the  newly  formed  congregation. 

The  Swedenborgian,  or  New  Jerusalem  Church,  was 
another  which  gained  a  foothold  during  this  period. 
There  were  believers  of  this  faith  in  the  city  as  early  as 
1830,  but  it  was  not  until  the  winter  of  1869  that  a  formal 
organization  was  formed.  The  following  year,  1870,  Rev. 
L.  H.  Tafel,  of  Philadelphia,  began  to  conduct  services. 

In  these  early  days,  the  services  attracted  large 
audiences.  Many  older  residents  bear  their  testimony 
to  this  fact.  "In  1883,  the  society  severed  its  connection 
with  the  Pennsylvania  Association,  and  Rev.  Schreck, 
upon  his  ordination,  became  the  regular  pastor.  Then 
there  were  about  seventy  members  in  Allentown,  and  ad- 
ditional members  in  the  county  districts.*' 

It  was  not  possible  to  find  out  the  exact  membership 
for  the  year  1890.    A  number  of  older  inhabitants,  all  of 

28  Cf.  Supra.,  p.  548. 


54  The  Churches  of  Allentown 

whom  were  members  of  the  congregation,  were  consulted. 
It  would  seem  that  200  would  be  a  fair  estimate  as  the 
church  membership  for  that  year. 

^*  Another  body  of  Christians  widely  spread  in  Penn- 
sylvania is  the  Church  of  God,  sometimes  called  Wine- 
brennerians  from  the  founder,  John  Winebrenner.  He 
is  a  minister  of  the  Eef  ormed  church,  and  settled  in  Har- 
risburg  in  1820,  where  a  revival  soon  broke  out  under  his 
preaching.  This  being  regarded  as  an  innovation  in  the 
customs  of  the  Reformed  church,  Winebrenner  met  so 
strong  an  opposition  that  the  doors  of  his  church  were 
closed  against  him,  and  about  the  year  1825  he  was  forc- 
ed to  separate  from  his  denomination.  His  preaching 
was  heard  by  great  numbers  of  Germans,  and  in  1829  a 
regular  organization  was  established.  Owing  to  their 
doctrine  of  immersion  they  are  classed  with  the  Baptists. 
The  polity  of  the  Church  of  God,  however,  is  Methodistic 
in  some  respects    .    .    .  '  *  ^^ 

This  denomination  made  its  advent  into  the  city  dur- 
ing the  years  immediately  before  1890.  The  exact  date 
of  its  local  appearance  could  not  be  discovered,  but  it  is 
known  that  the  organization  was  in  such  shape  that 
building  operations  were  begun  in  1890.  This  congrega- 
tion is  known  in  the  city  as  the  German  Baptist  Church, 
and  its  membership  in  1890  is  estimated  at  20. 

While  this  study  is  concerned  chiefly  with  the  Prot- 
estant churches  in  Allentown,  it  is  necessary  to  sketch 
the  entire  field,  in  order  that  our  conception  of  Protest- 
antism may  gain  the  proper  relative  proportions.  This 
demands  a  brief  summary  of  the  non-Protestant  group- 
ings of  a  religious  nature,  formed  during  the  forty  years 
following  the  middle  of  the  last  century. 

It  has  already  been  intimated  that  there  were  per- 
sons of  the  Catholic  faith,  residing  in  this  vicinity,  as 
early  as  the  seventh  decade  of  the  18th  century.  The 
number  of  Roman  Catholics  in  Allentown  and  vicinity, 
prior  to  the  nineteenth  century,  was  limited.  Such  few 
as  did  locate  here  were  ministered  unto  until  far  down 
in  the  19th  century  by  Jesuit  Fathers  from  Berks  County. 

In  1856,  ground  was  bought  on  Ridge  Avenue  and 
Allen  street,  and  the  same  year  building  operations  on 


29  Kuhns,  supra.,  pp.  191  and  192. 


■ 


A  Study  in  Statistics  55 


i..__„ 

dedicated  in  1857,  and  the  name  given  to  this  initial  ap- 
^pearance  of  organized  Catholocism  was  ^^The  Church  of 
H|t;he  Immaculate  Conception.'*    Thirty-six  members  com- 
■Iprised  the  congregation,  all  of  whom  were  Germans. 
^M         Catholics  of  Irish  extraction  are  soon  heard  of,  and 
one  hears  of  Irish  and  German  Catholics  ^Worshipping  to- 
gether in  peace.     This  most  extraordinary  combination 
was  short-lived,  for  in  1866,  a  "serious  disagreement  oc- 
curred on  St.  Patrick's  Day,  between  the  Irish  and  the 
German  members.''     Both  elements  hereafter  followed 
their  separate  functions.     The  church  building  passed 
from  the  German  element  to  the  Irish  faction,  via  a  sher- 
iff's sale,  and  the  church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception 
has  been  the  church  of  the  Irish,  and  later  of  the  English, 
Catholics  to  the  present  day. 

After  several  years  of  worship  in  a  frame  structure, 
the  German  element  was  taken  in  charge  by  Rev.  Ed- 
ward F.  Prendergast,  who  was  for  years  the  arch- 
bishop of  the  province  of  Philadelphia.  A  lot  was  pur- 
chased at  Fourth  and  Pine  streets,  and  in  1870,  the 
''Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  Church"  was  dedicated.  This 
has  since  that  time  been  the  material  representation  of 
German  Catholicism,  and  has  been,  and  is,  spoken  of  in 
popular  parlance  as  "the  German  Catholic  Church." 

An  effort  was  made  to  find  out  the  Catholic  mem- 
bership in  1890.  This,  it  was  impossible  to  do.  Monsig- 
nor  Peter  Masson  most  kindly  looked  up  the  old  records, 
but  could  find  no  reports  going  back  further  than  1897. 
^mA  total  of  2,450  souls  were  reported  for  that  year. 
■P  Recourse,  accordingly,  must  be  had  to  estimates.  It 
has  been  noted  that  there  were  36  souls,  of  Roman  Cath- 
olic faith,  affiliated  with  the  church  in  1857.  Forty  years 
later,  the  number  was  2,450.    Assuming  an  even  and  reg- 

Ilplar  growth  of  membership  each  year  during  this  forty- 
^ear  period,  it  would  mean  about  60  accessions  a  year. 
R)n  the  basis  of  this  figure,  the  Roman  Catholic  churches 
P?p^ould  have  gained  a  total  of  420  souls  since  1890.  It 
^ould  therefore  seem  to  be  fair  to  say  that  the  total 
number  of  souls  belonging  to  the  two  Roman  Catholic 


56 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


In  the  following  chapter,  it  will  be  shown  that  the 
adult  membership,  or  perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  say 
the  confirmed  membership,  equals  about  70  per  cent  of 
the  total  number  of  souls  enumerated.  Presuming  to  take 
this  percentage,  it  would  seem  that  there  were  about 
1,400  confirmed  Roman  Catholics  affiliated  with  the  city 
churches  in  1890.  This  figure,  of  course,  lacks  the  exact- 
ness of  most  of  the  other  data  given.  But  it  is  believed  ^~ 
to  be  very  close  to  the  truth.  ||l 

To  summarize  now,  there  were  in  Allentown  in  1890 
a  total  of  25  church  organizations.    Their  total  member- 
ship was  9,118.    These  churches  with  their  membership 
fall  somewhat  naturally,  from  a  number  of  angles,  into  4 
definite  groups.  ' 

In  the  first  place,  there  are  the  Reformed  and  Luth- 
eran churches.  These  two  denominations  were  compos- 
ed mainly  of  Pennsylvania  Germans  and  their  descend- 
ants. These  churches  are  the  formal  churches,  those  less 
tinged  by  the  emotionalism  that  characterized  the  relig- 
ious history  of  the  Pennsylvania  Germans  as  a  whole. 
In  1890, 10  out  of  the  25  formal  religious  organizations  in 
the  city  were  Lutheran  or  Reformed.  Their  total  mem- 
bership was  5,024,  or  55  per  cent  of  the  total  church  mem- 
bership of  the  city. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  significant  to  note  that  those 
peculiarly  pietistic  sects  which  were  so  important  in  the 
early  stream  of  German  immigration  into  the  state  are 
virtually  unrepresented  in  the  city.  In  1886,  a  reform 
branch  of  the  Mennonite  church  began  a  local  existence, 
but  by  1890,  the  Mennonite  Brethren  In  Christ  had  but 
13  members. 

There  is  a  group  of  so-called  *' English  ^^  churches, 
which  gained  a  foothold  in  the  city  between  1830  and 
1890,  most  of  them  however  dating  after  the  middle  of 
the  century.  These  churches  were  the  Presbyterian,  the 
Methodist,  the  Episcopal,  the  Baptist  and  the  Sweden- 
borgian.  By  1890,  7  out  of  the  25  churches  were  of  this 
general  type,  having  a  total  of  1,228  members.  This  was 
13  per  cent  of  the  church  membership  of  the  city. 

The  pietistic  influence  was  by  no  means  dead  among 
the  Germans,  as  far  as  its  manifestations  in  the  city  were 
concerned.    The  stream  of  emotional  religion  which  gain- 


I 


II 


II 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


57 


ed  such  great  strength  among  the  Germans,  followed  thru 
new  channels  which  culminated  in  the  organization  and 
extension  of  new  denominations.  Most  of  the  new  denom- 
inations were  influenced  to  a  marked  degree  by  the  prin- 
ciples and  polity  of  Methodism.  In  fact,  the  churches  of 
this  category,  such  as  the  Evangelical,  the  United  Breth- 
ren in  Christ,  and  the  German  Baptists,  were,  especially 
during  their  earlier  days,  little  more  than  Pennsylvania 
German  editions  of  Methodism.  By  1890,  there  were  six 
churches  in  Allentown  in  representation  of  this  phase  of 
religious  development,  having  a  membership  of  1,453,  or 
almost  16  per  cent  of  the  total  church  membership  of  the 
city. 

Finally,  there  was  the  Eoman  Catholic  element,  with 
two  churches  and  about  1,400  estimated  membership, 
mostly  of  later  settlers  of  German  and  Irish  extraction. 


!hapter  Hi 

A  STUDY  OF  THE  CHURCH  MEMBERSHIP  OF  ALLENTOWN 

IN  1917. 

In  the  preceding  chapters,  the  municipal  back- 
ground to  date,  and  the  denominational  background  to 
1890,  have  been  sketched.  No  effort  at  completeness  or 
originality  was  made,  but  simply  a  summary  of  what  was 
considered  essential  to  bring  the  city  and  its  denomina- 
tional past  before  the  reader,  with  enough  definiteness 
to  understand  properly  what  remains  to  be  offered.  In 
the  case  of  the  latter,  the  year  1890  was  selected,  because 
it  is  perhaps  the  best  arbitrary  point  to  fix  for  the  begin- 
ning of  that  development  of  the  city  which,  in  the  twenty- 
seven  years  that  have  elapsed  since,  has  carried  it  far  on 
the  road  toward  industrial,  civic  and  numerical  import- 
ance. Accordingly,  this  period,  i.  e.,  the  period  since 
1890,  has  been  left  for  more  thorough  study  in  a  later 
chapter. 

One  may  now  state  the  first  group  of  major  questions 
which  this  study  plans  to  answer.  There  are  three  ques- 
tions in  this  group.  They  are :  First,  what  is  the  present 
(spring  1917)  church  membership  of  the  city;  second, 
how  does  it  compare  with  the  population  of  the  city;  and 
third,  what  is  the  numerical  strength  of  the  various 
sects  and  groupings  of  sects?  It  is  proposed  in  this 
chapter  to  deal  with  each  of  these  questions  in  turn,  giv- 
ing such  data  as  it  has  been  possible  to  obtain,  noting 
their  value  and  defects,  and  venturing  some  selection  of 
data. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  answer  of  these  questions, 
it  is  necessary  to  consider  certain  objections  and  prob- 
lems that  immediately  are  apparent. 

To  begin  with,  while  the  study  was  in  progress,  a 
great  deal  of  criticism  was  directed  against  it  from  cer- 
tain quarters.  Most  of  the  critics  were  ministers  includ- 
ed in  the  study.  The  burden  of  the  antagonism  resolv- 
ed itself,  in  its  final  form,  to  this:  *'You  cannot  measure 


A  Study  in  Statistics  59 

the  religious  life  of  the  city  by  compiling  statistics.'' 
^  ^  The  religious  nature  of  a  city  does  not  yield  to  the  use 
of  a  yard  stick  or  measuring  tape.'' 

A  complete  admission  of  these  statements  must  of 
course  be  made  by  any  thinking  man.  Hearts  cannot  be 
read.  The  religious  temperature  of  people  cannot  be 
measured  by  any  thermometer  as  yet  devised  by  statis- 
tical genius.  No  man  can  take  a  census  of  the  Christians 
in  this  or  any  other  city.  Numerical  standards  are  in- 
sufficient where  spiritual  values  are  to  be  estimated. 
There  may  be  more  spiritual  intensity  in  a  meeting,  and 
more  ethical  result  of  it,  where  *Hwo  or  three  are  gath- 
ered together,"  than  when  seeming  worshippers  gather 
by  the  hundreds.  As  an  English  writer  has  remarked: 
^  *  Emphatically  let  it  be  said  here,  put  not  your  trust  in 
figures.  The  moral  significance  of  a  subscription  list 
may  be  in  inverse  ratio  to  its  worth  in  pounds  sterling; 
still  the  poor  widow's  mites  outweigh  the  superfluity  of 
the  rich. ' '  ^  Rev.  Harry  F.  Ward  has  similarly  stated  the 
inability  to  measure  religious  conditions.  He  says: 
**What  then  is  a  religious  community?  It  is  not  a  com- 
munity that  is  full  of  churches,  each  seeking  its  own  sec- 
tarian development,  each  cultivating  its  own  peculiar 
formulas  and  practise.  It  is  rather  a  community  which 
has  become  aware  of  its  organic  nature,  which  has  found 
its  soul,  repented  of  its  sins,  come  to  conscious  realiza- 
tion of  its  powers  and  needs,  and  is  co-ordinating  its 
forces,  including  its  churches,  in  harmony  with  a  power 
greater  than  itself  for  the  working  out  of  its  salvation."  ^ 

Despite  this  admitted  limitation,  it  is  believed  that 
an  enumeration  of  church  membership  has  its  value. 
From  the  earliest  days,  the  statistician  has  had  his  place 
in  organized  Christianity.  St.  Luke  was  the  first  of  the 
guild  when  he  counted  *' about  a  hundred  and  twenty"  ^ 
in  the  assembly  that  chose  Matthias  instead  of  Judas. 

Similarly,  he  records  that  **  about  three  thousand 
souls"  *  were  added  to  their  number  at  the  great  Pente- 
cost. Certainly  such  figures  give  us  a  more  definite  men- 
tal picture  of  the  origins  of  the  Church.    And  as  Carter 

1  Carter,  "The  Church  and  the  New  Age."  p.  14. 

2  Ward,  "Social  Evangelism."  p.  20. 

3  Acts  i.  15. 

4  Acts  ii.    41. 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


has  said:  *^ There  is  one  gain  from  statistics.  AVithin 
limited  area  of  church  life  in  which  they  have  validity, 
they  help  us  to  set  the  Church  as  an  organized  body 
against  the  background  of  the  times,  and  to  judge- -as 
far  as  judgment  can  be  passed  by  as — whether  her  hold 
on  life  is  stronger  or  weaker.  To  a  certain  extent  they 
do  register  the  Church 's  grip  of  the  age. ' '  ^ 

Fully  admitting  therefore  all  possible  limitations,  the 
data  were  gathered,  not  in  the  hope  of  measuring  the  re- 
ligious condition  of  the  city,  but  with  the  belief  that  from 
a  knowledge,  based  on  fact,  of  the  number  of  people  who 
have  formed  connections  with  ecclesiastical  organizations, 
some  idea  could  be  formed  of  the  grip  which  the  church, 
as  a  concrete,  tangible,  visible  organization,  has  upon  the 
population  of  the  city.  Only  this  is  claimed,  and  noth- 
ing more. 

A  second  question  that  may  properly  be  raised  is 
this:  Is  Allentown  a  representative  community?  Is  the 
particular  locality  a  fair  one  upon  which  to  draw  any 
conclusions  of  more  than  local  significance  ? 

To  these  questions  no  unqualified  answer  can  be  giv- 
en. In  a  sense,  one  can  say  yes ;  in  another  sense,  one  must 
say  no.  In  many  ways  Allentown  is  a  typical  inland  city, 
prosperous,  busy,  newly  rich,  newly  grown — one  of  those 
typical  American  industrial  centers  which  have,  in  the 
last  few  decades,  sprung  up  all  over  the  United  States. 
It  can,  with  relative  truthfulness,  be  said  that  Allen- 
town has  all  the  vices  and  virtues  of  a  new  industrial  cen- 
ter, i.  e.,  relatively  new.  It  is  hard  to  compare  cities. 
There  are  so  many  subjective  difficulties,  and  one's  num- 
ber of  cities  to  be  compared  must  necessarily  be  so  lim- 
ited. 

On  the  other  hand,  Allentown  is,  in  a  way,  a  pecul- 
iar community.  It  has  a  larger  proportion  of  people, 
native  born  of  native  parents,  than  many  other  cities  of 
corresponding  size.  Historically,  and  to  an  extent  tradi- 
tionally, it  is  a  Pennsylvania  German  community.  And 
the  Pennsylvania  German  has  always  been  characterized, 
as  has  been  noted,  by  a  strong  sense  of  piety.  Every 
boy  or  girl  in  the  typical  Pennsylvania  German  house- 
hold must  be  confirmed  or  converted.    It   is   an    event 

5  Carter,  op.  cit.  p.  15. 


A  Study  in  Statistics  61 

which,  like  baptism  and  marriage,  punctuates  the  routine 
of  almost  every  individual 's  life.  It  is  a  badge  of  respect- 
ability. Membership  in  a  church,  or  lack  of  it,  designates 
the  ''good  boy''  and  "good  girl,"  or  the  reverse.  What- 
ever the  sleek,  complacent  Pennsylvania  German  may 
think  of  the  church  and  the  preacher,  John  and  Mary 
must  "go  to  the  preacher"  for  catechetical  instruction 
when  they  arrive  at  a  certain  age.  They  may  not  want 
to,  like  to,  but  go  they  must.  It  is  one  of  those  things 
which  a  well-regulated  household  demands.  This  is,  of 
course,  true  of  many  other  elements  in  our  population. 
The  Pennsylvania  German  is  peculiar  in  the  sense  that 
this  feeling  is  more  marked  and  more  intense.  While 
Allentown  has  been  tearing  away  from  its  traditional 
moorings,  nevertheless,  the  extent  to  which  her  citizens 
are  still  influenced  by  the  Pennsylvania  German  atmo- 
sphere and  customs,  this  one,  among  others,  holds.  To 
the  extent  that  Allentown  remains  a  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
man town,  this  tendency  characterizes  her  people,  just 
as  it  does  a  number  of  other  Pennsylvania  German  towns 
dotting  eastern  Pennsylvania. 

The  third  question  that  may  be  raised  has  to  do  with 
the  manner  in  which  the  data  were  collected.  In  answer 
to  this,  it  may  be  said  that  in  the  great  majority  of  cases, 
they  were  gathered  by  personal  visits.  Most  of  the  min- 
isters in  the  city  were  interviewed,  church  records  in 
certain  cases  were  examined,  in  other  cases  pastoral  re- 
ports were  gone  over,  and  in  the  majority  of  cases  synodi- 
cal  and  conference  reports  were  utilized.  In  the  greater 
number  of  cases,  these  three  sources  were  available,  and 
wherever  possible,  they  were  compared.  The  attitude  of 
most  of  the  ministers  towards  the  writer  was  cordial.  A 
few  there  were  who  showed  personal  antagonism.  Sev- 
eral more  seemed  unduly  suspicious,  demanding  the  full- 
est particulars  regarding  the  use  to  which  the  data  were 
to  be  put  before  they  consented  to  give  what  was  asked 
for.  The  majority,  however,  went  to  such  inconvenience  as 
was  necessary,  and  with  cheerful  willingness.  Many 
thanks  are  due  to  these  pastors,  without  whose  co-opera- 
tion the  study  would  have  been  impossible.  In  many 
cases,  matters  were  exceedingly  simplified  by  virtue  of 
the  fact  that  the  United  States  Census  was  requiring,  at 
the  time,  a  report  from  all  of  the  churches,  one  of  the 


62 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


questions  being  asked  by  the  Census  bureau  authoritif 
was  the  membership  of  the  organization  at  that  time. 
This  enabled,  especially  in  regard  to  the  Catholic 
churches,  an  accuracy  of  data  otherwise  perhaps  impos- 
sible. 

Another  matter  that  needs  settlement  at  this  point 
is  the  determination  of  the  statistical  unit.  Every  statisti- 
cal study,  if  properly  done,  must  define  its  unit  of  meas- 
ure. A  study  may,  for  instance,  speak  of  farms,  but  unless 
one  knows  just  what  is  included  in  the  term  farm  as  used 
therein,  it  is  at  once  open  to  criticism.  Similarly,  the 
Census  may  speak  of  families,  but  unless  it  is  explained 
how  hotels,  boarding  houses  and  roomers  are  listed,  grave 
doubt  arises  at  once  concerning  the  value  of  the  study. 
It  becomes  necessary  therefore  to  fix  definitely  what  is 
meant  by  the  term  church  member. 

It  is  not  altogether  easy  to  do  this.  Various  de- 
nominations make  different  classifications.  The  Catholic 
churches,  when  asked  for  membership  data,  speak  of  so 
many  souls  in  the  parish,  including  all  baptized  persons 
connected  with  the  church.  The  Lutheran  churches  make 
a  three-fold  classification:  baptized  members,  confirmed 
members,  and  communicant  members.  The  Reformed 
churches  mention  communicant  members  and  those  that 
have  communed  during  the  year.  The  Evangelical,  Pres- 
byterian, Methodist,  and  a  number  of  other  denomina- 
tions, speak  only  of  members,  making  no  distinction,  ex- 
cept perhaps  between  resident  and  non-resident  members. 

As  the  study  proceeded  however,  and  one  discussed 
the  matter  with  various  pastors,  it  became  possible  to 
evolve  a  common  denominator.  The  confirmed  Luther- 
ans, the  communicant  Reformed  and  Episcopalians,  and 
the  members  of  the  other  Protestant  churches  were  found 
to  be  about  the  same  thing  in  each  case. 

In  the  case  of  the  Catholic  churches,  the  problem 
was  not  solved  so  easily.  Here  it  was  necessary  to  make 
estimates.  In  the  case  of  only  one  Catholic  church,  was 
it  possible  to  obtain  the  number  of  confirmed  members 
distinct  from  the  baptized  membership.  The  number  of 
confirmed  members  amounted  to  seventy  per  cent  of  the 
baptized  membership.  In  turning  to  the  Protestant  de- 
nominations where  baptized  and  confirmed  memberships 
were  given,  it  was  found  that  the  confirmed  members 


I 

I 


A  Study  m  Statistics 


63 


ranged  at  from  sixty-six  to  seventy  per  cent  of  the  total 
baptized  membership.  It  was  therefore  finally  decided 
to  estimate  the  confirmed  membership  of  the  Catholic 
churches  at  seventy  per  cent  of  the  total  baptized  mem- 
bership. This  met  with  the  approval  of  Monsignor  Peter 
Masson,  Vicar  General  of  the  local  diocese,  who  knows 
the  local  situation  very  thoroughly.  While  not  wholly 
accurate,  such  a  result  is  a  scientific  approximation,  near 
enough  to  the  real  number,  one  is  led  to  feel,  to  prevent 
any  misgivings  as  to  the  general  value  of  the  estimated 
result.  This  result  obtained  compares  with  the  Prot- 
estant membership  as  above  stated. 

It  may  be  said  then  that  the  term  church  member, 
used  as  the  unit  of  measure  throughout  this  study,  means 
one  who  has  been  admitted  to  membership  in  some  re- 
ligious organization  in  the  city,  maintaining  that  mem- 
bership by  the  payment  of  dues  and  the  meeting  of  other 
formal  obligations  and  requirements,  sufficiently  at 
least  to  be  carried  on  the  roll  of  the  organization.  Chil- 
dren or  adults  who  have  not  been  confirmed,  converted, 
*  *  saved, ' '  or  made  some  formal  confession  of  faith  or  pur- 
pose, or  bringing,  by  letter  of  transfer  or  other  prescribed 
method,  a  proof  that  this  had  been  done  elsewhere,  are 
not  listed  as  members  by  the  various  organizations,  and 
are  of  course  not  included  in  the  count  of  members. 

We  are  now  perhaps  in  a  position  to  address  our- 
selves to  the  first  question  with  which  this  study  deals. 
What  is  the  present  (1917)  church  membership  of  the 
city,  and  how  does  that  membership  compare  with  the 
population?  As  previously  indicated,  the  position  is  not 
taken  that  the  total  membership  is  an  exact  measure  of 
the  religious  forces  of  the  community,  or  an  indication 
of  the  number  of  consecrated  citizens.  On  the  other 
hand,  however,  there  has  been  so  much  discussion  con- 
cerning the  strength  of  the  church  in  the  modern  city,  its 
importance  as  an  institution,  etc.,  that  it  is  believed  that 
value  is  to  be  attached  to  the  data  as  a  measure  of  the 
tangible  hold  which  the  church  as  an  institution  has  upon 
the  city^s  population.^  In  other  words,  just  what  pro- 
portion of  the  people  in  this  city  are  formally  connected 
with  a  religious  organization?  How  many  support  the 
church  by  being  a  tangible  part  of  it?  How  many  peo- 
ple are  interested  enough  in  its  work  to  pass  through  the 


i^murches  of  Allentown 


formal  requirements  and  maintain  the  formal  obligations 
of  membership  in  it  ? 

There  were  in  the  city,  in  the  spring  of  1917,  a  total 
of  64  formal  church  organizations  known  to  the  writer. 
No  doubt  there  are  one  or  two  in  addition,  but  their  num- 
erical importance,  if  such  there  be,  is  insignificant.  Of 
the  64,  there  are  52  which  maintain  some  aspect  of  the 
Protestant  faith ;  8  are  Catholic,  including  two  which  are 
spoken  of  as  Greek  Catholic,  but  which  recognize  the 
leadership  of  the  Eoman  pontiff;  one  is  Greek  orthodox; 
and  three  are  Jewish  synagogues.  Several  religious  or- 
ganizations sprang  into  existence  during  the  fall  of  the 
year  1917,  but  none  was  included  in  the  study  which  had 
not  existed  prior  to  June  1st,  1917.  A  line  had  to  be 
drawn  somewhere.  Inasmuch  as  the  church  year 
of  all  denominations  ended  prior  to  that  date,  it  was  de- 
cided that  the  first  of  June  was  a  fair  date  to  fix,  beyond 
which  no  data  of  any  kind  should  be  included. 

Of  the  52  Protestant  organizations,  membership  data 
were  secured  from  every  one.  The  figures  represent,  in 
the  majority  of  cases,  the  report  of  the  congregation  to 
the  district  denominational  organization,  such  as  confer- 
ence, synod  or  classis.  In  most  cases,  the  reports  denote 
the  total  membership  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  some 
time  between  February  and  May.  In  the  case  of  the  Gen- 
eral Synod  Lutherans,  United  Brethren,  and  Mennonite 
Brethren  in  Christ,  the  1916  reports  were  used.  In  these 
denominations,  the  annual  report  to  the  general  body  of 
the  church  is  made  in  October.  Accordingly,  the  1916 
reports  were  taken,  since  the  1917  reports  would  have 
necessitated  a  stepping  over  the  line  of  finality,  estab- 
lished at  June  1st.  The  total  membership  of  these  52 
Protestant  organizations,  in  1917,  was  21,193. 

Turning  to  the  Catholic  churches,  of  which  there 
were  8,  the  combined  adult  membership,  on  the  basis  of 
a  70  per  cent  estimate  of  the  number  of  baptized  persons 
reported,  was  11,344.  Fortunately,  while  the  study  was 
in  progress,  the  United  States  census  sent  out  a  general 
inquiry  as  to  membership  of  churches.  To  answer  this 
government  inquiry,  all  of  the  Catholic  churches  in  the 
city  took  a  census  of  their  membership.  The  figures  ob- 
tained and  sent  to  the  census  office  at  Washington  were 
those  given  to  the  writer. 


A  Study  in  Statistics  65 

There  is  in  Allentown,  one  Greek  orthodox  church. 
Its  membership  of  confirmed  persons  in  1917  was  63. 
This  is  the  figure  given  by  the  father. 

The  three  Jewish  organizations  in  existence  at  the 
time  the  study  was  made  reported  a  total  membership  of 
201.  There  are  many  more  Hebrews  in  the  city,  but  201 
is  the  sum  total  of  members  reported  by  the  rabbis. 

The  total  church  membership  of  the  entire  city,  in 
the  spring  of  1917,  was  32,801.  It  is  one's  firm  conviction 
that  this  figure  is  very  nearly  correct.  Certainly  a  hun- 
dred or  two  would  cover  any  inaccuracies,  and  a  hundred 
or  two  would  affect  the  general  total  to  a  small  degree. 

This  membership  total  is,  however,  open  to  one  other 
criticism,  and  that  is  that  there  are  many  church  mem- 
bers, who,  while  living  in  the  city  and  probably  worship- 
ping in  most  cases  in  the  city's  churches,  do  not  main- 
tain a  formal  connection  with  any  congregation  in  the 
city.  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  there  are  many  such. 
It  was  pointed  out  in  the  first  chapter  that  a  large  part 
of  the  city 's  population  had  been  recruited  from  the  ad- 
jacent rural  districts.  Acquaintance  with  the  church  sit- 
uation in  this  city  enables  one  to  know  that  the  smaller 
annual  dues  in  vogue  in  the  rural  churches  have  been 
largely  responsible  for  this  condition.  For  the  magnifi- 
cent sum  of  perhaps  one  dollar  a  year,  it  is  quite  within 
the  range  of  possibility  to  retain  membership  in  a  nearby 
rural  congregation,  with  the  privilege  of  quarterly  com- 
munion and  burial  in  the  adjoining  cemetery.  Coupled 
with  this  fact,  as  a  partial  explanation,  is  the  natural 
inertia  of  certain  Allentonians  in  such  matters. 

How  large  the  number  of  these  is  can  only  be  esti- 
mated. Various  clergymen  and  laymen,  who  are  in  a 
position  to  know  the  situation,  were  asked  to  make  esti- 
mates. Their  estimates  range  between  three  and  ten 
■^thousand.  The  highest  estimates  were  from  Lutheran 
Bsources,  somewhat  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  the  large 
number  estimated  was  a  powerful  indictment  against 
their  own  aggressiveness  and  industriousness  in  the  vine- 
ard. 

While  it  is  perfectly  true  that  this  element  must  be 
'ecognized  in  any  study  of  church  membership,  there  is 
mother  element,  generally  overlooked,  which  tends  to, 
tnd  perhaps  entirely  does^  overbalance  it.  That  is  the  fact 


66 


The  Churches  of  AUeniown 


that  many  city  churches  carry  members  on  their  mem- 
bership rolls  who  do  not  live  in  the  city.  There  is  a 
large  population  which,  fringe-like,  surrounds  the  city, 
but  which  is  not  included  in  an  enumeration  of  the  city's 
population.  Many  of  these  are  members  of  churches  in 
the  city.  To  gain  some  idea  of  their  numerical  signifi- 
cance, a  detailed  examination  was  made  of  the  member- 
ship rolls  of  three  congregations.  One  of  the  congrega- 
tions was  a  large  one,  with  a  membership  of  almost  1,500; 
the  second  one  was  medium-sized,  with  almost  500  mem- 
bers ;  while  the  third  one  had  but  a  few  more  than  a  hun- 
dred. The  percentages  of  non-resident  members  carried 
on  the  rolls  and  included  in  the  official  membership  re- 
ports of  these  three  churches  were  9,  14.5  and  35,  re- 
spectively. The  first  and  second  seem  to  be  typical  of 
the  average  congregations  of  steady  growth;  the  latter 
represents  the  condition  in  churches  which  shoot  up  very 
rapidly,  without  actually  assimilating  their  membership. 
The  pastor  of  the  latter  church  confessed  that  among  the 
names  on  his  membership  roll  were  those  of  residents  of 
towns  round  about  the  city  which  had  been  added  by  his 
predecessor,  but  whom  he  himself  had  never  seen.  If 
15  per  cent  of  the  membership  of  the  churches  of  the  city 
be  a  fair  estimate  to  cover  those  members  not  residing 
within  the  limits  of  the  city,  the  number  would  be  about 
5,000.  Such  a  number  would  probably  counterbalance 
the  number  of  church  members  living  within  the  city,  but 
maintaining  formal  connection  with  some  organization 
elsewhere.    The  difference,  if  any,  is  apt  to  be  small. 

Accepting  the  total  of  32,801  as  approximately  cor- 
rect, how  does  this  compare  with  the  population  of  the 
city.  Obviously,  a  comparison  with  the  total  population 
would  be  unfair,  for  the  church  membership  arrived  at 
does  not  include  baptized  persons,  most  of  whom  are 
children.  It  is  evident  that  the  church  membership  must 
be  compared  with  the  population  over  a  certain  age  lim- 
it. What  agg  limit  shall  be  taken?  Here  is  a  real  diffi- 
culty. The  canonical  age  for  confirmation  in  the  churches 
of  the  Catholic  faith  is  12  years.  The  customary  age  in 
the  Eeformed  and  Lutheran  churches  ranges  from  14  to 
17  years.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  certain  Protestant 
sects  which  are  replenished  with  more  youthful  additions, 


I 


I 


pi 


I 


A  Study  in  Statistics  6? 

embracing  those  who  undergo  the  remarkable  transfor- 
mation known  as  conversion  at  a  startling  age. 

Among  the  age  classifications  which  the  census 
makes,  two  lend  themselves  to  possible  use  in  this  con- 
nection. One  may  take  the  population  ten  years  of  age 
and  over,  or  the  population  fifteen  years  of  age  and  over. 

The  population  of  Allentown  in  1910  was  51,913.  Ac- 
cording to  the  census,  41,863  were  ten  years  of  age  and 
over,  while  37,679  were  fifteen  years  of  age  and  over.  The 
population  in  1917  was  estimated  by  the  writer  at  75,684. 
If  the  age  classification  remained  the  same,  there  would 
have  been  in  Allentown  in  1917,  61,001  people  ten  years 
of  age  and  over,  and  54,946  people  fifteen  years  of  age 
and  over.  If  the  part  of  the  population  which  the  am- 
munition work  has  brought  into  the  city  is  preponder- 
antly an  adult  population,  these  figures  are  under-esti- 
mates.  For  safety's  sake,  one  is  willing  to  accept  the  un- 
der-estimate. 

Taking  the  total  church  membership,  and  comparing 
it  with  these  figures,  one  finds  that  it  equals  53.77  per 
cent  of  the  population  ten  years  of  age  and  over,  and 
59.7  per  cent  of  the  population  fifteen  years  of  age  and 
over.  It  would  seem  therefore  in  summary  that  some- 
where between  one-half  and  three-fifths  of  the  city's  pop- 
ulation, past  the  age  where  formal  church  membership 
is  assumed,  is  really  enrolled  within  the  church  member- 
ship. 

Turning  to  the  third  matter  to  be  discussed  in  this 
chapter,  let  us  note  the  denominational  make-up  of  these 
32,801  members.  The  Protestant  membership  has  been 
given  at  21,193.  This  amounts  to  almost  66  per  cent  of 
the  total  membership  of  the  city.  As  a  general  state- 
ment, one  may  say  that  two-thirds  of  the  church  mem- 
bership of  Allentown  is  Protestant  in  its  faith  and  con- 
nection. 

The  membership  of  the  Catholic  churches,  Roman 
and  Greek,  was  given  at  11,344.  This  is  a  bit  more  than 
34  per  cent  of  the  city's  total  membership.  The  frac- 
tional percentage,  lying  between  the  two  main  classifi- 
cations of  Protestant  and  Catholic,  embraces  the  Jewish 
and  Greek  orthodox  elements.  Allentown  therefore  is 
predominantly  Protestant,  and  it  is  largely  with  this  ele- 
ment that  the  remainder  of  our  study  will  deal. 


68  The  Churches  of  Allentown 

Turning  to  the  Protestant  group,  let  us  examine  it  a 
bit  more  in  detail.  The  membership  data  of  the  various 
denominations  follows: 


Denomination. 

Number. 

Year 

Reformed 

7,355 

1917 

Lutheran  (General  Council) 

5,036 

1917 

Lutheran  (General  Synod) 

1,784 

1916 

United  Evangelical 

2.217 

1917 

Evangelical  Association 

863 

1917 

Methodist  Episcopal 

698 

1917 

Presbyterian 

674 

1917 

Episcopal 

586 

1917 

German  Baptist 

427 

1916 

United  Brethren 

414 

1916 

Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ 

399 

1916 

Baptist 

344 

1916 

First  Mennonite 

95 

1917 

Gospel  Chapel 

61 

1917 

Zion  New  Reformed 

45 

1917 

First  Brethren 

41 

1917 

African  Methodist  Episcopal 

40 

1917 

Christian  Science 

35 

1917 

Free  Methodist 

26 

1917 

Swedenborgian 

21 

1917 

Pentecostal  Rescue  Mission 

17 

1917 

Missionary  Alliance 

15 

1917 

It  will  be  seen,  from  the  foregoing  data,  that  the 
Reformed  church  is,  numerically  speaking,  the  strongest 
in  the  city.  The  membership  in  1917  was  7,355.  This 
amounts  to  34.7  per  cent  of  the  total  Protestant  member- 
ship, and  22.4  per  cent  of  the  total  church  membership 
of  the  city.  In  other  words,  a  liberal  one-third  of  Prot- 
estantism in  Allentown  is  Reformed  in  its  allegiance,  and 
a  bit  more  than  one -fifth  of  the  total  membership  of  the 
city  adheres  to  that  brand  of  orthodoxy. 

Taking  the  two  branches  of  the  Lutheran  church  to- 
gether (they  have  united  formally  since  June  1st,  1917), 
it  appears  that  the  total  Lutheran  membership  is  6,820. 
This  is  the  second  largest  denomination  in  the  city.  Their 
total  number  forms  32.1  per  cent  of  the  Protestant  mem- 
bership, and  20.8  of  the  entire  membership.  The  differ- 
ence in  the  numerical  strength  between  the  Reformed  and 
Lutheran  churches  is  not  great,  being  but  535  in  1917. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Allentown  was  originally 
a  Reformed  and  Lutheran  settlement.  It  is  interesting, 
therefore,  to  note  the  extent  of  historical  continuity  in 
this  respect.  Taking  these  two  denominations  and  add- 
ing them  together,  the  total  (14,175)  amounts  to  66.8  per 


A  Study  in  Statistics  69 

cent  of  the  Protestant  strength  and  43.2  per  cent  of  the 
total  membership  in  the  city. 

It  will  be  recalled,  too,  that  the  Evangelical  church 
arose  and  developed  as  a  movement  of  reformation  and 
protest  against  the  formalism  and  conservatism  of  the 
Reformed  and  Lutheran  churches.  The  combined  mem- 
bership of  the  two  branches  of  this  denomination  (the 
dual  organization  referred  to  is  the  result  of  a  factional 
fight  in  the  nineties)  was  3,080  in  1917.  This  amounted 
to  14.5  per  cent  of  the  Protestant  total,  and  9.3  per  cent 
of  the  city^s  total.  If  this  element,  based  originally  upon 
an  attitude  of  protest,  be  added  to  the  Reformed  and 
Lutheran  strength,  it  will  be  found  that  the  total  amounts 
to  81.3  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  Protestants,  and 
52.5  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  church  members  for 
the  city. 

An  interesting  point  to  be  noted  is  the  numerical 
weakness  of  the  Methodist  and  Baptist  churches.  These 
two  denominations,  of  the  largest  in  the  country  as  a 
whole,  form,  when  taken  together,  but  4.9  per  cent  of  the 
total  number  of  Allentown  Protestants  and  but  3.1  per 
cent  of  the  total  number  of  church  members.  This  rela- 
tive proportion,  between  the  Reformed  and  Lutherans  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  Methodists  and  Baptists  on  the 
other  hand,  is  of  course  due  to  the  German  origin  and 
background  of  the  city. 

Summarizing  the  chapter,  it  has  been  shown  that  the 
total  church  membership  of  Allentown  is  32,801,  which  is 
somewhere  between  one-half  and  three-fifths  of  the  pop- 
ulation of  the  city  eligible  on  the  basis  of  age  to  church 
membership.  It  has  been  shown  that  about  two-thirds  of 
this  membership  is  of  the  Protestant  faith,  and  about 
one-third  is  Catholic,  with  Jews  and  Greek  orthodox  of 
small  numerical  significance.  It  has  been  shown,  with 
regard  to  the  Protestant  membership,  that  it  is  largely 
Reformed  and  Lutheran,  a  fact  easily  explained  in  view 
of  the  trend  of  the  first  two  chapters. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  MOVEMENT  OF  CHURCH  MEMBERSHIP  SINCE  1890. 

In  the  preceding  chapter,  an  effort  was  made  to  as- 
certain, as  accurately  as  possible,  the  number  of  church 
members  in  the  city  of  Allentown.  The  figure  obtained 
was  contrasted  with  the  total  population  past  certain 
ages.  It  is  believed  that  the  percentage  derived  indi- 
cates very  closely  the  proportion  of  residents  of  the  city 
who  are  affiliated  with  formal  religious  organizations. 

The  important  thing  for  the  student  of  social  science, 
however,  is  not  simply  the  numerical  strength  of  the 
church  in  any  given  year,  but  the  movement  of  growth 
or  decline  over  a  number  of  years  which  a  comparative 
study  reveals. 

The  statement  has  been  made  again  and  again  dur- 
ing the  past  years  that  the  church  is  declining  in  num- 
bers, that  it  is  losing  its  grip  upon  the  masses  of  the  peo- 
ple. Although  written  a  number  of  years  ago,  several  sen- 
tences from  the  right  reverend  Charles  DJ  Williams' 
article  on  *^The  Conflict  Between  Religion  and  the 
Church,**  published  in  the  June,  1911,  number  of  The 
American  Magazine,  may  be  quoted  here  as  summarizing 
popular  impression  on  the  matter.  Speaking  of  the 
church.  Bishop  Williams  says:  *^It  is  losing  in  many 
ways.  It  is  losing  in  numbers.  *  *  *  It  is  not  keeping 
step  in  membership  with  the  enormous  growth  of  popu- 
lation in  our  cities.  It  is  losing  hold  on  the  masses  and 
classes  alike.*' 

During  the  last  eight  or  ten  years,  the  writer  has 
held  an  intense  interest  in  this  question.  It  was  discuss- 
ed with  laymen  and  clergymen  alike.  Everywhere,  with 
practical  unanimity,  was  the  thought  held,  sometimes 
expressed,  sometimes  implied,  sometimes  conveyed  de- 
spite verbal  denials,  that  the  church  was,  numerically 
and  in  the  matter  of  influence,  a  diminishing  factor  in  our 
American  civilization.  Within  the  past  few  years,  a 
rather  general  sentiment  seemed  to  prevail  that  we  were 
in  the  midst  of  a  more  or  less  definite  religious  revival 


A  study  in  statistics  71 

or  awakening,  yet  to  most  men  that  revival  or  awaken- 
ing was  not  confined  to  the  church,  or  really  within  the 
church,  but  was  rather  in  that  vague  twilight  zone  out- 
side of  the  formal  church  organization. 

What  it  is  proposed  to  do  in  this  chapter  is  to  trace 
the  movement  of  church  membership  in  this  one  city  over 
a  period  of  27  years,  a  period  of  rapid  growth  of  popu- 
lation, a  period  of  increasingly  intense  industrialism,  a 
period  of  economic  transition.  It  is,  more  specifically 
speaking,  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  to  attempt  an  an- 
swer to  some  of  the  following  questions:  Has  the  total 
church  membership  of  Allentown  grown  as  rapidly  as 
the  population!  Has  the  Protestant  church  grpwn  as 
rapidly  as  the  population?  Has  the  Catholic  church? 
How  do  these  two  branches  of  Christendom  compare 
with  each  other  as  to  growth  during  these  years!  The 
writer  knows  of  no  such  study  having  been  made,  and 
believes  this  to  be  of  value  in  revealing  a  general  tend- 
ency among  at  least  the  Pennsylvania  German  element, 
of  which  Allentown  is  typical. 

The  first  question  to  be  considered  is:  Has  the  total 
church  membership  of  the  city  increased  as  rapidly  as 
the  city's  population!  In  1890,  the  total  church  mem- 
bership was,  as  previously  stated,  9,118.  The  total  pop- 
ulation of  the  city,  according  to  the  census  for  1890,  was 
25,228.  The  population,  fifteen  years  of  age  and  over, 
by  the  same  authority,  was  17,418.  The  church  member- 
ship, therefore,  amounted  to  36.1  per  cent  of  the  total 
population,  and  52.3  per  cent  of  the  population  fifteen 
years  of  age  and  over. 

In  1917,  the  total  church  membership  was  32,801. 
The  total  population  of  the  city  was  conservatively  esti- 
mated at  75,684.  The  population,  fifteen  years  of  age 
and  over,  was  also  conservatively  placed  at  54,946.  The 
church  membership  therefore  amounted  to  43.3  per  cent 
of  the  total  population,  and  59.7  per  cent  of  the  popula- 
tion fifteen  years  of  age  and  over. 

The  matter  can  be  approached  from  another  angle. 
The  increase  of  population  from  1890  to  1917  was  200 
per  cent.  The  increase  of  population,  fifteen  years  of 
age  and  over,  during  the  same  period  was  215  per  cent. 
The  increase  of  church  membership  during  the  same 
years  amounted  to  259  per  cent. 


72  The  Churches  of  Allentown 


I 


These  comparisons  justify  at  least  one  conclusion, 
and  that  is  that  the  church  in  Allentown  is  not  losing  its 
grip  as  far  as  formal  church  membership  is  concerned. 
Making  allowance  for  the  fact  that  the  estimate  of  pop- 
ulation may  be  too  low,  and  allowing  for  an  increase  in 
the  proportion  of  the  city's  population  which  people  over 
fifteen  years  of  age  form  (due  to  the  influx  of  industrial 
workers  within  the  last  three  or  four  years),  it  is  never- 
theless evident  that  the  church  has  been  holding  its  own 
during  these  twenty-seven  years,  and  has  possibly  in- 
creased its  grip  upon  the  masses  of  the  city. 

The  next  question  to  arise  is  this:  What  are  the  re- 
spective roles  which  the  two  great  branches  of  Christen- 
dom have  played  in  this  movement?  The  data  are  avail- 
able for  the  comparison  necessary  to  answer  this  ques- 
tion. Let  us  look  first  of  all  at  the  Protestant  churches. 
Following  is  a  table  showing  the  population,  fifteen  years 
of  age  and  over,  for  the  years  1890,  1900,  1910  and  1917, 
as  well  as  the  Protestant  church  membership  in  the  same 
years.    The  year  1890  is  used  as  the  statistical  base. 

Year      Population  15  Yrs.    Percentage  Protestant  Percentage 

of  age  and  over  membership 

1890  17,418  100.  7,718  100. 

1900  25,198  144.  10,497  136. 

1910  37,679  216.  16,333  211. 

1917  54,946  315.  21,193  274. 

On  the  basis  of  these  data,  it  would  appear  that  only 
one  conclusion  could  be  drawn,  and  that  would  be  that 
the  Protestant  church  membership  had  not  kept  pace 
with  the  growth  of  population  during  this  twenty-seven 
year  period.  The  table  given  above  plainly  shows  that 
the  population,  fifteen  years  of  age  and  over,  has  increas- 
ed 41  per  cent  more  than  the  Protestant  church  member- 
ship during  the  period  under  consideration.  Eemember- 
ing  however  that  the  total  church  membership  was  shown 
to  have  grown  more  rapidly  than  the  population  of  the 
city,  it  is  also  very  evident  that  one  must  look  elsewhere 
than  to  the  Protestant  church  for  the  explanation. 

Let  us  turn  then  to  the  churches  of  the  Catholic 
faith.  At  the  close  of  the  second  chapter,  the  Catholic 
membership,  i.  e.,  for  confirmed  members  was  estimated 
at  1,400.  It  was  admitted  that  this  figure  is  not  totally 
accurate,  but  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  it  is 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


73 


near  enough  so,  that  one  need  feel  no  hesitancy  in  taking 
that  figure  for  the  purposes  of  our  discussion. 

The  confirmed  membership  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
churches  in  1917  was  given  at  10,084.  The  membership 
for  the  two  Greek  Catholic  churches  in  the  same  year 
was  1,260.  From  the  standpoint  of  our  purpose,  there  is 
no  reason  for  maintaining  the  distinction.  It  may  be 
said  then  that  the  Catholic  church  membership  in  1917 
was  11,344.  This,  as  previously  indicated,  amounts  to 
70  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  baptized  persons  enum- 
erated as  belonging  to  the  Catholic  churches  in  1917.  The 
confirmed  Catholic  church  membership  in  1917  was, 
therefore,  8.103  times  that  in  1890.  In  other  words,  the 
increase  of  membership  during  the  twenty-seven  year 
period  under  consideration  was  710.3  per  cent,  as  against 
a  gain  of  215  per  cent  in  the  population,  fifteen  years  of 
age  and  over,  and  a  gain  of  174  per  cent  in  the  Protes- 
tant church  membership. 

Just  what  does  this  mean?  Does  it  mean,  perchance, 
that  the  city  of  Allentown  is  being  converted  from  Prot- 
estantism to  Catholicism?  It  does  not.  The  explana- 
tion for  this  fact  is  evident  to  any  person  who  knows  the 
city  and  stops  to  analyze  the  situation. 

To  begin  with,  the  eight  Catholic  churches  are  all 
in  the  lower,  or  eastern  part  of  the  city,  east  of  Fourth 
street.  Every  one  is  included  in  the  zone,  described  in 
the  first  chapter  as  embracing  virtually  four  out  of 
every  five  of  the  foreign  born  and  native  born  of  foreign 
parents.  It  is  among  the  foreign  stock  that  the  Catholic 
churches  work  almost  exclusively.  The  Church  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  a  Roman  Catholic  church,  has  a 
membership  made  up  almost  exclusively  of  German,  Aus- 
trian and  Hungarian  stocks.  In  a  letter  to  the  writer, 
dated  September  12th,  1917,  Monsignor  Peter  Masson, 
the  priest  in  charge,  states  that  the  growth  of  his  parish, 
numerically  speaking,  since  1897,  has  been  due  very 
largely  to  the  immigration  from  Hungary.  The  Church 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception  embraces,  for  the  most 
part,  the  older  foreign  stock,  from  the  standpoint  of  resi- 
dence in  the  city,  with  an  especially  large  Irish  follow- 
ing. The  Church  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  was  establish- 
ed in  1912,  and  the  567  souls  in  the  parish  in  1917  are 
almost  exclusively  Polish.    The  Church  of  Our  Lady  of 


74 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


Mount  Carmel  is  the  Italian  Catholic  church.  It  was  es- 
tablished in  1911,  and  had  3,000  souls  enumerated  in  the 
parish  in  1917.  The  Slavonian  element  in  the  city  or- 
ganized a  congregation  in  1907,  and  ten  years  later  the 
Church  of  St.  John  The  Baptist  had  1,440  souls.  More 
recently,  the  Magyars  formed  a  separate  congregation, 
and  St.  Stephen's  Catholic  Church  had  a  membership  of 
847  souls  in  1917.  There  are  also  two  Greek  Catholic 
churches,  St.  Mary's  and  St.  Michael's,  having  a  com- 
bined membership,  baptized,  of  1800  souls  in  1917. 

Appreciating  then  the  fact  that  the  Catholic  congre- 
gations are  almost  exclusively  made  up  of  the  foreign 
stock  of  the  city,  it  becomes  pertinent  to  consider  what 
change  has  taken  place  with  reference  to  the  number  of 
the  foreign  stock  in  the  city  during  the  period  under 
consideration. 

The  census  of  1890  gives  the  number  of  foreign  born 
in  the  city  of  Allentown  as  2,045.  Of  these,  1,776  were 
fifteen  years  of  age  and  over.  In  1910,  the  number  of 
foreign  born  according  to  the  census  was  6,234.  The 
number  fifteen  year  of  age  and  over  was  5,891.  The  in- 
crease for  the  two  decades  was  231.1  per  cent. 

The  number  of  foreign  born  in  1917  is  not  known. 
It  is  evident  however  that  it  is  much  larger  than  in  1910. 
The  immigration  into  the  United  States  from  1910  to 
1914,  the  year  of  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  was  very  large. 
Any  one  who  is  familiar  with  the  city  of  Allentown  knows 
that  this  city  gained  its  full  share  of  this  immigrant 
stream.  Four  of  the  eight  Catholic  churches  in  the  city 
have  been  established  since  1910.  Two  of  the  four  prev- 
iously established  have  gained  most  of  their  member- 
ship since  that  date.  St.  Mary's  Ruthenian  Greek  Cath- 
olic Church  is  an  excellent  example.  In  1908,  when  this 
congregation  was  organized,  the  baptized  membership 
was  160  souls.  In  1917,  there  were  1,200  souls.  Or,  one 
may  refer  to  the  Italian  Catholic  Church.  The  congre- 
gation of  Our  Lady  of  Mt.  Carmel  was  organized  in  1911. 
The  enumeration  of  1917  reported  3,000  souls  in  the  par- 
ish. 

Moreover,  an  increasing  percentage  of  the  native 
born  of  foreign  or  mixed  parentage  must  be  considered 
as  among  the  Catholic  element  in-  the  population.  The 
older  population  of  this  classification,  in  1890,  was  per-* 


■ 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


75 


haps  largely  Protestant,  but  during  the  last  decade  in  the 
19th  century,  there  began  the  arrival  of  the  Catholic 
South-Europeans,  whose  descendants  now  fall  into  the 
category  of  native  born  of  foreign  parents,  and  who  re- 
tain their  Catholic  allegiance. 

The  total  number  of  baptized  persons  reported  as  be- 
longing to  the  Eoman  and  Greek  Catholic  churches  in 
1917  was  16,205.  To  this  may  be  added  90  souls  belong- 
ing to  the  one  Greek  Orthodox  church,  thus  giving  a  total 
of  16,295  souls.  This  comes  very  near  to  being  the  total 
number  of  people  in  the  city  of  Catholic  faith.  In  1910, 
the  census  gives  the  foreign  born  in  the  city  as  6,234 
and  the  native  born  of  foreign  or  mixed  parents  as  7,172. 
It  is  evident  therefore  that,  allowing  for  a  liberal  in- 
crease among  the  foreign  born  since  1910,  and  including 
a  portion  of  the  native  born  of  foreign  or  mixed  parent- 
age, the  Catholic  membership,  plus  that  of  the  small 
Greek  Orthodox  church,  has  kept  pace  with  the  increase 
in  foreign  stock  in  the  city's  population. 

On  the  basis  of  the  foregoing,  the  conclusion  ap- 
pears inevitable  that  the  marked  percentage  of  increase 
in  the  membership  of  the  Catholic  churches  is  due  to  the 
rapid  increase  of  the  foreign  stock  of  Catholic  faith.  It 
means,  too,  in  the  last  analysis,  that  the  Catholic  church 
is  retaining  its  hold,  as  far  as  the  situation  in  Allentown 
is  concerned,  upon  the  foreign  element  after  the  transi- 
tion from  the  old  world  to  the  new  has  been  effected. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  Protestant  church  member- 
ship. It  has  been  noted  that  the  Protestant  membership 
did  not  increase  so  rapidly  as  the  population,  fifteen 
years  of  age  and  over,  during  the  period  since  1890. 
It  was  also  noted  that  the  Catholic  membership  increas- 
ed much  more  rapidly.  This  latter  fact  was  explained 
as  being  due  to  the  increase  in  the  number  of  immigrant 
stock  of  Catholic  faith.  It  would  seem  fair  therefore 
to  compare  the  Protestant  membership,  not  with  the 
growth  of  the  population  of  the  city  as  a  whole,  but  with 
the  growth  of  the  native  element.  It  is  not  implied  that 
the  Protestant  churches  are  exclusively  membered  by 
native  bom  stock.  But  the  greater  part  of  the  Prot- 
estant strength  is  among  the  native  element.  Virtually 
all  the  Protestant  churches  are  located  in  that  part  of 
the  city  where  the  native  born  of  native  parents  are  seg- 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


legated.  Only  three  Protestant  churches,  out  of  the 
total  of  fifty-two,  are  located  east  of  Fourth  street. 

There  is  no  way  of  knowing  the  native  born  popula- 
tion in  1917.  Our  comparison  must  consequently  be  con- 
fined to  the  period  from  1890  to  1910.  The  question  is 
raised  here  whether  the  Protestant  church  membership 
during  these  twenty  years  has  increased  as  rapidly  as 
the  native  born  of  native  parents.    Let  us  see. 

In  1890,  the  population,  fifteen  years  of  age  and  over, 
that  was  native  born  of  native  parents,  amounted,  ac- 
cording to  the  United  States  census,  to  13,809.  The  na- 
tive born  of  native  parents  in  1910  in  the  city  are  given 
at  27,158.  The  increase  for  this  twenty-year  period  is 
almost  100  per  cent.  During  the  same  period,  the  Prot- 
estant church  membership,  according  to  the  table  prev- 
iously given  in  this  chapter,  increased  111  per  cent. 

While  it  was  admitted  that  the  Protestant  member- 
ship included  also  a  part  of  the  native  born  of  foreign 
or  mixed  parents,  and  it  would  seem  a  small  part  of  the 
foreign  born,  nevertheless,  the  above  comparison  would 
indicate  that  as  far  as  the  native  born  of  native  parents 
are  concerned,  who  make  up  the  greater  part  of  the 
Protestant  strength,  the  Protestant  churches  have  kept 
pace  in  their  membership  with  the  increase  in  number 
in  this  element  during  the  period  from  1890  to  1910.  In 
fact,  church  membership  increased  11  per  cent  more  in 
these  two  decades  than  the  native  born  of  native  parents. 

The  real  truth  of  the  matter  seems  to  be  therefore 
that  the  Protestant  churches  have  not  been  declining  in 
their  hold  upon  that  element  of  the  city  which  is  their 
own,  have  not  been  losing  ground,  but  have  maintained 
their  hold  during  the  period  under  consideration.  Sim- 
ilarly, the  Catholic  church  has  retained  its  hold  upon  its 
people  during  the  period,  despite  the  effects  of  a  tran^. 
sition  which  completely  changed  their  entire  life  and  out- 
look upon  it.  In  AUentown  at  least,  the  church  is  not 
losing  ground,  is  not  losing  its  hold  upon  the  classes  and 
masses  alike,  but  is  retaining  its  traditional  hold  upon 
the  people — at  least  as  far  as  formal  connection  with  the 
organization  of  the  church  is  concerned. 

This  conclusion  is  directly  opposite  to  what  virtually 
everyone  in  the  city,  with  whom  the  matter  was  discuss- 
ed, expected.    With  a  very  few  exceptions,  those  persons 


A  Study  in  Statistics  77 

who  knew  of  this  study  expected  a  rather  dark  and  pessi- 
mistic conclusion  regarding  the  church's  growth.  Nev- 
ertheless, facts  are  facts,  and  these  facts  stand  as  a  re- 
buke to  an  assumption  based  on  insufficient  knowledge. 

As  an  impartial  observer  and  student  of  the  church, 
one  cannot  but  gain,  at  least  as  far  as  this  city  is  con- 
cerned, several  impressions  regarding  the  popular  atti- 
tude towards  the  church.  In  the  first  place,  there  is 
some  heckling  of  the  church  which  is  not  altogether  jus- 
tified. Certain  ^  *  candid ' '  critics  go  about  drawing  a  very 
pessimistic  picture  regarding  its  future,  wearing  withal 
an  air  which  tries  to  say:  ^'This  hurts  me  as  much  as  it 
does  you,  but  I  feel  that  it  is  my  duty  to  do  it.''  There 
is  a  naively  keen  delight  in  certain  quarters  in  twisting 
the  ecclesiastical  lion's  tail,  regardless  of  the  apologetic 
air  which  the  twister  may  assume.  Undoubtedly,  some 
twisting  of  his  tail  is  necessary  from  time  to  time  to 
startle  him  into  wakefulness  and  activity.  But  the  twist- 
ing here  referred  to  is  that  which  concerns  itself  chiefly 
in  seeing  how  cleverly  the  twist  can  be  drawn,  and  what 
weird  grimaces  the  lion  makes  under  such  treatment. 

Then,  too,  one  finds  with  reference  to  the  church 
that  same  popular  philosophy  which  one  encounters  in 
the  discussion  of  any  social  problem.  That  is  the  phil- 
osophy or  tendency  which  can  be  summed  up  in  the 
phrase:  **Alas,  the  good  old  days."  Each  age  is  prone 
to  picture  the  past  as  a  golden  age.  Immigration  is  not 
what  it  used  to  be.  The  weather  is  not  what  it  used  to 
be.  Children  are  not  so  well  behaved  as  they  once  were. 
Sobriety  is  not  what  it  was  in  the  past.  The  church  is 
not  what  it  used  to  be,  it  is  losing  in  numbers  and  in  hold 
upon  masses  and  classes  alike.  Alas,  the  good  old  church 
of  our  fathers.  Alas,  the  pious  Allentonians  of  the  past 
century. 

Herbert  Spencer,  in  his  book,  ^'The  Study  of  So- 
ciology," a  book  which  everyone  should  read  before 
studying  any  social  problem,  refers  directly  to  this  very 
fallacy.  **  Those  who  have  lately  become  conscious  of 
certain  facts  are  apt  to  suppose  those  facts  have  lately 
arisen.  After  a  changed  state  of  mind  has  made  us  ob- 
servant of  occurrences  we  were  before  indifferent  to, 
there  often  results  the  belief  that  such  occurrences  are 
more  common  than  they  were.    It  happens  so  even  with 


78 


The  Churches  of  AUentown 


accidents  and  diseases.  Having  lamed  himself,  a  man 
is  surprised  to  find  how  many  lame  people  there  are; 
and,  becoming  dyspeptic,  he  discovers  that  dyspepsia  is 
much  more  frequent  than  he  supposed  when  young.  For 
a  kindred  reason  he  is  prone  to  think  that  servants  do 
not  behave  nearly  so  well  as  they  did  during  his  boy- 
hood days:  not  remembering  that  in  Shakespeare's  days 
the  service  obtainable  was  similarly  reprobated  in  com- 
parison with  *  the  constant  service  of  the  antique  world. ' 
In  like  manner,  now  that  he  has  sons  to  establish  in  life, 
he  fancies  that  the  difficulty  of  getting  places  is  much 
greater  than  it  used  to  be.  As  witnesses  to  social  phe- 
nomena, men  thus  impressed  by  facts  which  did  not  be- 
fore impress  them,  became  perverters  of  evidence.  Things 
they  have  suddenly  recognized,  they  mistake  for  things 
which  have  suddenly  come  into  existence;  and  so  are  led 
to  regard  as  a  growing  evil  or  good,  that  which  is  very 
likely  a  diminishing  evil  or  good.** 

Behind  a  vast  amount  of  the  current  criticism  of  and 
pessimism  regarding  the  church  is  the  implicit  and  prob- 
ably mistaken  notion  that  the  ecclesiastical  situation 
used  to  be  much  better  than  it  now  is.  A  little  reading 
of  history  would  soon  dispel  this  conviction.  There  are, 
for  instance,  the  sermons  of  Hugh  Latimer,  in  the  16th 
century.  Under  the  date  of  1548  is  given  this  incident: 
**One  of  her  neighbors  met  her  in  the  street  and  said, 
*  Mistress,  whither  go  yeT  *  Marry,'  she  said,  *I  am  going 
to  St.  Thomas  of  Acres,  to  the  sermon;  I  could  not  sleep 
all  this  last  night  and  I  am  now  going  hither.  I  have 
never  failed  of  a  good  nap  there.*  **  Or,  are  golf  and 
automobiles  vaunted  now  as  the  successful  rivals  of  the 
preacher?  Yet  one  questions  how  many  bishops  today 
could  be  reduced,  like  Latimer  in  1549,  to  face  a  locked 
church,  where  he  had  been  advertised  to  preach,  and  on 
the  steps  one  villager  saying,  *'Sir,  this  is  a  busy  day 
with  us,  we  cannot  hear  you;  it  is  Robin  Hood*s  day. 
The  parish  are  gone  abroad  to  gather  for  Robin  Hood. 
I  pray  you  hinder  them  not.  *  * 

Similarly,  in  Pepys  Diary,  vintage  of  1667,  one  reads : 
**Much  discourse  about  the  bad  state  of  the  church,  and 
how  the  clergy  are  come  to  be  men  of  no  worth  in  this 
world ;  and  as  the  world  do  now  generally  discourse,  they 
must  be  reformed." 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


79 


Well  says  the  author  of  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes: 
**Say  not  thou,  what  is  the  cause  that  the  former  days 
were  better  than  these.  For  thou  enquirest  not  wisely 
concerning  this.''  The  good  old  times  and  the  good  old 
church — twin  illusions  of  limited  human  vision.  In  Al- 
lentown,  at  least,  we  have  the  assurance  of  knowing  that 
the  numerical  hold  which  the  church  has  upon  the  masses 
is  as  extensive  today  as  it  was  twenty-eight  years  ago. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CHURCH  ATTENDANCE  IN  ALLENTOWN. 

Reverting  to  the  third  chapter,  it  will  be  remember- 
ed that,  in  general  terms,  three  out  of  every  five  people  in 
the  city  fifteen  years  of  age  and  over,  maintain  formal 
connection  with  some  religious  organization.  It  is  one's 
belief  that  this  figure  represents,  to  a  certain  degree,  the 
tangible  hold  which  the  church  has  upon  the  population 
of  the  city.  Whatever  may  be  the  motive  or  motives  of 
this  three-fifths  of  the  population,  whether  it  be  that  they 
seek  church  membership  as  a  matter  of  habit,  as  a  badge 
of  respectability,  as  an  avenue  of  social  advancement,  as 
a  means  of  worship,  as  a  matter  of  thoughtless  imitation, 
whatever  it  may  be,  they  nevertheless  hold  the  formal 
organization  which  is  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  God 
in  enough  veneration  or  awe  or  respect,  to  satisfy  the  for- 
mal requirements  of  membership. 

There  remains,  however,  another  test.  How  many 
people  attend  divine  worship?  What  proportion  of  the 
population  actually  comes,  constantly  and  repeatedly, 
under  the  influence  of  the  church! 

Some  five  years  ago,  the  writer  became  interested 
in  the  matter  of  church  attendance.  The  question  which 
insistently  came  to  mind  was  this:  How  many  people  in 
this  city  go  to  church  on  a  Sunday  1  Inquiries  were  made 
among  the  various  pastors.  One  replied  that  church  at- 
tendance is  **very  good,"  whatever  that  may  mean;  the 
second  pronounced  it  ^ '  very  poor  " ;  a  third  was  non-com- 
mittal; a  fourth  was  neutral. 

Gradually  the  idea  dawned  that  there  was  but  one 
way  to  find  out.  That  was  by  actual  count.  In  a  lec- 
ture delivered  May  3,  1883,  Lord  Kelvin  observed  that 
**No  real  advance  can  be  made  in  any  branch  of  physi- 
cal science  until  practical  methods  of  numerical  reck- 
oning  of  phenomena  are  established.''  ^  Some  sixteen 
years  later  Professor  Henry  W.  Farnum  asserted  that, 

1  Lecture  on  "Electrical  Units  of  Measurements"  at  the  Institu- 
tion of  Civil  Engineers,  reported  in  Nature,  vol.  xxviii,  p.  91. 


A  Study  in  Statistics  81 

''The  same  remark  applies  with  equal  pertinence  to  so- 
cial science."  ''We  can  make  no  advance  until  we  can 
measure  our  phenomena  in  such  a  w^ay  as  to  be  able  to 
institute  fair  comparisons  between  different  times,  differ- 
ent places,  different  classes  of  individuals.'*  ^  Church 
attendance  is  a  social  phenomena,  and  until  we  have  ac- 
curately gathered  the  data,  our  discussion  of  the  matter 
is  a  structure  built  upon  the  sand  of  assumption. 

The  project  of  a  census  of  church  attendance  in  the 
city  was  broached  to  a  class  of  college  students,  and  they 
entered  heartily  into  it.  That  was  in  1912.  The  re- 
sults obtained  were  so  encouraging,  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  statistical  student,  that  it  was  decided  to  repeat 
the  study  in  the  spring  of  1917,  and  on  a  more  elaborate 
scale.  Much  had  been  learned  by  experience  in  the  for- 
mer study,  and  in  the  second  study  an  effort  was  made 
to  avoid  the  mistakes  of  the  first  attempt. 

It  becomes  pertinent  to  declare  the  method  pursued 
in  making  the  study.  The  services  of  more  than  fifty 
students  were  enlisted.  A  church  was  assigned  to  each 
one.  He  was  instructed  to  attend  services  for  two  or 
three  Sundays,  morning  and  evening,  provided  the  afore- 
said Sundays  were  days  of  fair  weather.  They  were 
furthermore  asked  to  count  all  the  attendants,  men,  wo- 
men and  children.  All  young  persons  accompanied  by 
adults  were  enumerated  as  children. 

Meanwhile,  unknown  to  the  student,  the  writer,  by 
virtue  of  long  residence  in  the  city,  found  it  possible 
to  interest  a  number  of  residents  of  the  city  in  the  study. 
Such  an  one,  not  acquainted  with  the  particular  student, 
visited  the  same  church  and  for  the  same  purpose.  Some 
of  these  towns'  folks  were  ushers  in  the  churches,  some 
were  choir  members,  some  were  personal  friends  or  rela- 
tives. An  effort  was  made  to  arrange  the  schedule  so 
that  persons  of  assured  reliability  visited  the  larger 
churches. 

With  two  reports  for  each  service,  from  two  persons 
unknown  to  each  other,  it  was  possible  to  check  up  the 
data.  In  quite  a  good  many  cases,  there  were  slight  dif- 
ferences between  the  two  reports.  In  a  few  cases,  there 
was  a  considerable  variation.    In  these  latter  instances, 

2  "Some  Economic  Aspects  of    the    Liquor     Problem,"     Atlantic 
Monthly,  vol.  Ixxxiii,  p.  644.     (May,  1899). 


&2 


The  Churches  of  AUeniown 


both  reports  were  rejected,  and  the  next  Sunday,  some 
investigator  of  proven  trustworthiness  in  the  work  was 
sent  there. 

The  results  obtained  therefore  are  fairly  accurate. 
Many  thanks  are  due  to  numerous  ladies  and  gentlemen 
who  kindly  assisted  in  this  work,  and  without  whose  help 
the  study  would  not  have  been  possible. 

The  study  was  made  during  the  month  of  April, 
1917.  Spring  weather  this  year  developed  at  any  unus- 
ually late  date.  This  season  of  the  year,  it  was  felt,  was 
a  fair  time  in  which  to  make  the  study.  There  was  neither 
the  pre-Christmas  prosperity  to  discountenance,  nor  the 
mid-summer  slackness  to  apologize  for.  The  enumera- 
tion was  furthermore  confined  to  the  Protestant  churches 
and  Jewish  synagogues.  Due  to  unavoidable  circum- 
stances, the  Catholic  churches  were  not  included  in  the 
study  of  1917,  although  they  had  been  included  in  the 
study  of  1912. 

In  tabulating  the  data,  the  two  reports  for  each 
church  were  compared  for  the  two  Sundays,  or  otherwise 
in  the  case  of  the  Hebrew  synagogues.  The  day  showing 
the  larger  attendance  was  selected  in  each  case.  Simi- 
larly, concerning  the  two  reports  for  each  service,  if  there 
was  any  difference,  the  report  showing  the  larger  at- 
tendance was  accepted.  The  data  presented,  therefore, 
show  the  situation  at  its  best.  Every  effort  was  made 
to  be  as  fair  to  the  churches  as  possible. 

Tables  I  and  II  at  the  end  of  the  chapter  summarize 
the  results  of  the  study.  It  appears  from  these  tables 
that  the  combined  Protestant  and  Jewish  places  of 
worship,  having  a  total  membership  enrolled  of 
21,394,  have  a  morning  attendance  of  5,505,  and  an 
evening  attendance  of  7,203.  The  morning  attendance 
amounts  to  about  one-fourth  of  the  membership,  the  even- 
ing attendance  to  about  one-third  of  the  membership. 
The  proportion  of  men  to  women  at  the  morning  service 
is  as  10  to  14,  while  at  the  evening  service  it  is  as  10 
to  15. 

It  must  at  once  be  admitted  that  there  are  more  fair- 
ly regular  church  attendants  in  the  city,  of  non-Catholic 
faith,  than  the  figures  show.  On  one  Sunday  there  may 
be  100  people  in  attendance  in  a  certain  church,  and  125 
the  following  Sunday,  with  the  possibility  that  but  25 


I 
I 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


lad  attended  the  services  on  both  Sundays.  It  is  pos- 
sible for  the  actual  number  of  fairly  regular  church  at- 
tendants to  be  twice  as  large  as  table  I  would  show. 
This  might  be  the  case.  In  actual  practice,  every  one 
knows  that  it  is  not.  Anyone  attending  church  with  a 
fair  degree  of  regularity  can  vouch  for  the  statement 
that,  with  relatively  few  exceptions,  the  same  brothers 
and  the  same  sisters  sit  on  the  same  pews  virtually  every 
Sunday.  Surely  to  say  that  7,500  includes  the  number 
of  fairly  regular  morning  attendants  and  10,000  the  num- 
ber of  evening  attendants  of  like  regularity,  would  be  to 
make  more  than  a  sufficiently  liberal  allowance  for  the 
possibilities  in  the  case. 

Attendance  must  be  contrasted  however  with  popu- 
lation, not  with  membership.  What  proportion  of  the 
Protestant  and  Jewish  elements  in  the  community,  i.  e. 
Protestant  or  Jewish  by  background  if  not  by  formal  al- 
legiance, come  into  constant  or  consistent  touch  with 
the  message  of  the  church?  How  do  these  attendance 
data  compare  with  the  non-Catholic  population  of  the 
city? 

In  the  previous  chapter,  it  was  stated  that  the  total 
number  of  baptized  members  reported  by  the  Roman  and 
Greek  Catholic  churches,  and  the  Greek  Orthodox  church, 
was  16,296.  From  what  one  knows  of  the  general  effi- 
ciency of  these  organizations,  together  with  what  extend- 
ed personal  investigation  over  a  number  of  years  has 
shown,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  there  are  very  few  people 
of  Catholic  faith  in  the  city  who  are  not  formally  in  touch 
with  one  of  the  churches  of  their  creed.  Surely  an  al- 
lowance of  1,000  would  more  than  cover  any  possible 
number  of  Catholics  in  Allentown  who  are  not  enrolled 
as  members  of  one  of  the  Catholic  churches  in  the  city. 
Subtracting  such  a  total  obtained,  from  the  total  popula- 
tion of  the  city,  it  appears  that  there  are,  in  round  num- 
bers, about  58,000  people  of  non-Catholic  faith  in  Allen- 
town  in  1917. 

Comparing  the  number  of  attendants  as  given  in 
Table  I  with  this  number,  it  appears  that  the  morning 
attendance  in  the  Protestant  and  Jewish  houses  of  wor- 
ship approximates  one-tenth  of  the  total  number  of  peo- 
ple of  that  faith  in  the  city.  Eliminating  the  Hebrews  as 
a  negligible  numerical  element,  one  may  say  that  on  any 


84 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


typical  Sunday  morning  in  the  city  of  Allentown,  one  oi 
of  every  ten  Protestants  will  attend  church.  The  be'-i 
evening  attendance  revealed  during  the  time  of  the  study 
totalled  7,203.  Comparing  this  with  58,000  population, 
one  out  of  every  eight  people  are  shown  to  attend  even- 
ing or  vesper  services. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  the  time  of  the 
year  selected  for  the  study,  together  with  the  fair  weath- 
er conditions  demanded,  free  the  totals  obtained  from 
any  suspicion  of  being  under-statements.  Rather  is  it 
evident  that  the  total  is  probably  higher  than  an  average 
of  the  fifty-two  Sundays  of  the  year  would  be. 

As  previously  stated,  no  census  of  attendance  in  the 
Catholic  churches  was  attempted.  However,  in  the 
earlier  study  of  1912  referred  to,  such  an  effort  was  made. 
The  information  obtained  at  that  time  indicated  that 
there  were  few  Catholics  in  the  city  who  were  not  com- 
ing into  more  or  less  regular  contact  with  their  particu- 
lar church.  With  the  majority  of  the  children  attend- 
ing the  parochial  schools  in  the  city,  with  several  masses 
on  the  Sabbath  and  with  a  daily  mass  in  most  of  them, 
the  number  of  Catholics  in  the  city  who  are  not  in  contact 
with  their  church  is  negligible. 

The  final  conclusion  to  be  drawn  in  this  chapter  is 
that  after  every  allowance  has  been  made  for  any  and  all 
kinds  of  circumstances,  the  fact  nevertheless  remains  that 
the  religious  organizations  of  the  city  come  into  contact 
with  a  minority  of  the  people  of  the  city.  That  those 
with  whom  they  do  not  come  into  contact  are  hopeless, 
hardened  sinners,  wicked  men  and  women,  is  not  implied. 
That  all  those  with  whom  the  church  comes  in  contact 
are  actuated  by  motives  of  reverent  worship  is  not  at  all 
suggested.  The  conclusion  reached  means  this  one  thing: 
that,  as  the  situation  stands  in  this  city,  the  churches  do 
not  have  the  opportunity  to  exercise  whatever  influence 
they  can  or  will,  upon  the  majority  of  its  inhabitants. 
Whatever  religious  influence  comes  to  this  majority, 
must  come  from  some  other  source  than  the  church, 


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I 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SUBSTITUTES  FOR  CHURCH  GOING. 

Why  do  not  more  people  go  to  church?  Certain 
groups  react  in  rather  positive  manner  whenever  this 
question  is  raised.  One  group,  consisting  for  the  most 
part  of  church-goers,  are  more  or  less  positive  that  the 
non-goers  are  a  hopeless  lot,  hardened  in  their  iniquity, 
wilfully  occupying  themselves  with  the  things  of  this 
world  to  the  exclusion  of  things  churchly.  It  is  their 
firm  belief  that  the  people  who  are  not  in  church  are  out 
of  it  because  they  deliberately  choose  not  to  shine  as  one 
of  the  stars  in  the  church's  crown.  In  the  inner  con- 
sciousness of  this  group  is  the  feeling,  seldom  expressed 
but  generally  present,  that  they,  being  among  those  who 
attend  church,  are  the  children  of  light  and  of  wisdom. 
The  feeling  often  verges  close  to  Pharisaism. 

Another  element — composed  of  non-goers  to  church 
— when  confronted  with  this  question,  are  promptly  mov- 
ed to  utter  all  varieties  of  criticism  against  the  church 
and  those  persons  whom  they  associate  with  some  re- 
ligious organization.  Their  attitude  is  that  if  the  church 
was  as  it  should  be,  they  would  attend ;  if  there  were  not 
so  many  hypocrites  on  the  front  pews,  they  would  sit 
there ;  if  the  preacher  was  not  so  obviously  favoring  cer- 
tain factions,  they  would  hear  him  gladly.  These  are 
some  of  the  more  common  utterances  of  this  group,  but 
they  by  no  means  exhaust  the  philosophy  regarding  the 
church  which  they  will  expound  upon  sufficient  provo- 
cation. '.    i  4 

Some  years  of  effort  to  get  at  the  truth  of  the  mat- 
ter has  convinced  me  that  both  of  these  elements  are 
prone  to  miss  the  mark,  and  that  the  excuses  generally 
given  are  the  superficial  camouflage  for  the  real  reasons. 
Whatever  may  be  the  reason  or  reasons,  this  chapter  pre- 
sents the  results  of  an  effort  to  approach  the  problem 
from  a  different  angle.  The  question  which  it  is  attempt- 
ed to  answer  here  is  this :  Where  are  the  people  who  ar^ 
not  in  church  on  Sundays,  and  what  are  they  doing? 


88 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


This,  it  is  believed,  is  the  first  necessary  step  to  get- 
ting at  the  truth  in  a  scientific  manner. 

At  the  very  outset,  it  must  be  recognized  that  the 
people  not  in  church  fall  somewhat  naturally  into  two 
groups.  There  are  those  who  could  not  attend  if  they 
would,  and  there  are  those  who  could  attend  if  they  were 
so  minded.  This  distinction  is  often  lost  sight  of,  but  it 
is  important  that  it  should  be  maintained. 

Our  first  concern  will  be  with  those  who  could  not 
attend  if  they  would.  A  study  of  this  group  shows  it 
to  be  larger  than  most  people  suspect.  There  are  obvious- 
ly in  this  city,  as  in  every  modern  city,  those  who  are 
obliged  to  work  on  the  Sabbath  day.  It  is  one  of  the 
purposes  of  this  chapter  to  suggest  the  extensiveness  of 
this  group. 

To  begin  with,  there  is  the  Lehigh  Valley  Transit 
Company.  Mr.  E.  C.  Spring,  the  general  superintendent, 
states  that  at  least  800  of  the  1400  employees  of  the  com- 
pany are  compelled  to  work  seven  days  a  week.  This 
includes  the  conductors  and  motormen,  the  dispatchers, 
the  men  at  the  ticket  offices,  the  sandmen,  the  employees 
at  the  car  barn  and  the  power  plant,  and  other  sundry 
occupations. 

The  police  department  of  the  city  embraces  a  force 
of  49  men.  Some  of  these  are  on  duty  from  6  a.  m.  to  6 
p.  m.,  the  rest  from  6  p.  m.  to  6  a.  m.  All  of  them  are 
debarred  from  attendance  at  church  services.  Those  on 
duty  during  the  night  must  needs  sleep  during  the  day- 
time. 

The  annual  report  (1916)  of  the  Allentown  Fire  De- 
partment shows  a  total  of  47  paid  firemen,  who  are,  of 
course,  on  continual  duty.  In  addition  to  these,  there 
are  55  fire  police,  unsalaried,  and  engaged  during  the 
week  in  other  occupations,  but  who  are  very  likely  to 
spend  their  Sundays  at  the  fire  company's  quarters  to 
keep  in  touch  with  things. 

There  are  two  telephone  companies  in  the  city.  They 
are  the  Bell  and  the  Consolidated.  The  chief  operators 
of  these  companies  kindly  ascertained  the  number  of 
people  on  duty  from  Saturday  night  until  Sunday  night. 
The  total  number  reported  for  the  two  exchanges  is  50. 
These  are,  of  course,  unable  to  attend  church  services. 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


» 


There  are  two  hospitals  in  the  city — the  Allentown 
and  the  Sacred  Heart.  The  1917  report  of  the  Allentown 
Hospital  states  that  an  average  of  130  persons  are  em- 
ployed daily  at  the  institution.  The  Sacred  Heart  Hos- 
pital reports  30.  Of  this  total  of  160,  some  undoubtedly 
receive  an  occasional  Sunday  * '  off, '  *  yet  it  seems  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  close  on  to  150  are  employed  in  these 
institutions  on  a  Sunday. 

There  are  two  telegraph  companies  in  the  city.  In- 
quiry at  both  offices  (Western  Union  and  Postal)  show- 
ed that  40  people  were  on  duty  on  a  Sunday  at  some  time 
during  the  day  which  interfered  with,  and  made  impos- 
sible, their  attendance  at  church  services. 

The  1917  city  directory  lists  29  drug  stores  in  the 
city.  Virtually  all  of  these  have  cigar  stands  and  soda 
fountains  in  addition  to  their  drug  business.  In  fact  the 
drug  business  seems  to  be  somewhat  incidental  to  the 
business  of  the  establishment  in  most  of  the  cases.  These 
stores  are  practically  all  open  on  Sunday,  either  the  en- 
tire or  a  large  part  of  the  day.  A  visit  on  Sunday  to  a 
number  of  them  revealed  that  as  high  as  six  people  were 
employed  in  the  larger  ones,  and  two  in  the  smaller  ones. 
It  was  estimated  that  at  least  60  people  were  obliged  to 
work  in  the  drug  stores  of  the  city  on  the  Sabbath  during 
church  service  time.  This  is  a  conservative  estimate,  and 
a  careful  and  minute  tabulation  would  probably  reveal  a 
larger  number. 

Similarly,  the  1917  directory  lists  38  retail  confec- 
tionery stores.  Few,  if  any  of  these,  are  closed  on  a  Sun- 
day. The  larger  ones  have  flourishing  soda  fountain 
businesses  attached  to  them,  and  a  visit  to  these  reveal- 
ed six  to  eight  employees  on  a  Sunday  night.  Most  of 
them  employed  two  people,  and  again  it  is  conservative 
to  state  that  at  least  60  people  are  thus  employed  on  a 
Sunday,  either  wholly  or  in  part  time. 

There  are  more  than  fifty  hotels  in  the  city,  of  which 
number  about  20  are  of  considerable  size,  with  a  goodly 
number  of  roomers  and  table  boarders.  These  larger 
hotels  employ  clerks,  elevator  attendants,  bell  hops, 
waiters,  cooks,  chambermaids,  etc.  Counting  the  em- 
ployees who  work  during  the  night  together  with  the  day 
service,  one  is  surprised  to  find  the  number  in  a  hotel  of 
any  size  to  exceed  fifty.      All  of  these    are    prevented 


90 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


from  attending  church  services  by  the  nature  of  theii 
employment.  The  total  number  of  persons  thus  engaged 
by  the  hotels  of  the  city  is  not  known,  but  it  is  felt  that 
that  it  may  be  estimated  safely  at  600. 

Since  it  is  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  simply  to  sug- 
gest the  extensiveness  of  Sunday  employment,  it  will  not 
be  necessary  to  follow  out  in  detail  each  specific  line  of 
work.  Enough  is  it  then  to  point  out  there  are  two  taxi 
companies,  sixteen  auto  supply  companies,  nineteen  bak- 
ers, iaye  motorcycle  shops,  eighteen  garages,  seven  liv- 
ery and  boarding  stables,  forty  meat  markets,  and  two 
morning  newspapers,  the  employees  of  which  are  for  the 
most  part  prevented  from  attending  church  services,  if 
they  were  so  minded,  by  the  very  nature  of  their  em- 
ployment. A  partial  investigation  of  these  various  busi- 
nesses justifies  the  estimate  that  about  250  persons  are 
engaged  in  them  on  the  average  Sunday. 

Then  also  are  the  chauffeurs;  the  brakemen,  conduc- 
tors, engineers  and  firemen  on  the  railroads;  the  ticket 
and  station  agents;  the  commercial  travellers,  many  of 
whom  are  compelled  to  be  away  from  home  over  Sunday; 
the  clerks  in  cigar  stores;  the  janitors  in  stores,  public 
buildings  and  apartment  houses;  the  milkmen;  the  stew- 
ards in  clubs;  the  managers,  waiters  and  cooks  in  res- 
taurants and  delicatessen  shops;  all  these  being  of  a  na- 
ture that  requires  seven-day-a-week  service.  It  is  the 
writer's  judgment  that  1,500  is  not  too  large  an  estimate 
to  cover  the  number  of  people  in  these  employments  in 
Allentown  engaged  on  Sunday. 

Several  specific  aspects  of  the  matter  of  Sunday  em- 
ployment call  for  more  detailed  examination.  In  the 
first  chapter  it  was  pointed  out  that  a  large  number  of 
Allentonians  were  employed  at  the  Bethlehem  Steel 
plant.  Of  these,  many  are  obliged  to  work  on  Sundays, 
or  on  the  shift  beginning  Saturday  night  or  Sunday  after- 
noon. The  number  of  these  could  not  be  accurately  deter- 
mined. Inquiry  with  the  station  policeman  and  ticket 
agent  at  the  Lehigh  Valley  Station  brought  forth  an  esti- 
mate that  200  men  left  the  city  on  Sunday  mornings  for 
the  Bethlehem  plant.  The  number  leaving  Saturday 
evening  was  estimated  at  80.  However,  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  by  far  the  greater  number  commute  to 
and  from  Bethlehem  on  the  street  cars.      The  car  dis- 


A  8tudy  in  Statistics 


91 


patchers,  the  motormen  and  conductors,  and  various 
workmen  were  spoken  to  regarding  this  matter,  and  from 
all  that  it  was  possible  to  discover,  more  than  1,000 
men  working  at  the  Bethlehem  Steel  plant  and  living  in 
Allentown  are  compelled  to  work  at  such  hours  as  to 
make  attendance  at  church  services  an  impossibility. 

The  Traylor  Engineering  Company  has  a  plant  at 
Allentown  which  is  one  of  the  larger  industries  in  the 
city.  During  the  winter  and  spring  months  of  the  year 
1917,  the  company  had  large  ammunition  orders.  More 
than  1,500  men  were  employed  there  at  that  time  and  due 
to  the  urgency  of  the  need  for  ammunition,  work  on  these 
orders  was  prosecuted  seven  days  a  week.  Perhaps  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  1,000  people  were  working  there 
on  Sundays  at  the  time  of  this  study.  These,  of  course, 
were  prevented  from  attending  church  services. 

In  addition  to  these  more  obvious  aspects  of  the  Sun- 
day employment  problem,  there  is  another  one  which  is 
apt  to  be  overlooked.  There  are  a  large  number  of  wo- 
men in  the  city  who  support  themselves,  or  who  contrib- 
ute to  the  family  income,  by  the  keeping  of  boarders  and 
lodgers.  These  women  are  really  engaged  in  gainful  oc- 
cupations, with  the  homes  as  the  places  of  occupation. 
Where  a  woman  has  a  number  of  lodgers,  or  more  par- 
ticularly if  she  keeps  boarders,  the  duties  which  this  im- 
poses upon  her,  and  her  help,  is  apt  to  be  of  such  an  ex- 
tent on  Sunday,  as  on  any  other  day  of  the  week,  as  to 
keep  her  from  attending  church  service.  There  is  no 
way  of  determining  how  many  women  are  thus  situated, 
but  their  number  has  greatly  increased  recently,  due  to 
the  influx  of  population.  In  the  first  chapter  it  was 
pointed  out  how  the  phenomenal  development  of  certain 
industries  under  the  stress  of  war  orders  had  attracted 
many  people.  This  influx  has  been  far  beyond  any  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  homes  added.  In  the  fall  of 
1917,  th«  Bethlehem  Steel  Company,  with  a  growth  al- 
most overnight  of  thousands  of  additional  workmen,  was 
forced  to  take  up  the  problem  of  finding  living  accom- 
modations for  their  employees.  A  canvass  was  made  of 
the  entire  city  in  an  effort  to  locate  additional  accommo- 
dations. It  has  been  a  matter  of  common  observation 
that  there  has  been  a  great  increase  in  the  number  of 
families  in  Allentown  keeping  lodgers  and  boarders  dur- 


92  The  Churches  of  Allentown 

ing  the  past  three  years.  This  element  is  a  constant  fac- 
tor in  the  topic  under  discussion  in  all  towns,  and  in  a 
town  like  Allentown  where  population  has  increased  more 
rapidly  than  living  accommodations  have  increased,  the 
number  is  exceptionally  large. 

In  regard  to  the  inability  of  women  to  attend  church 
services,  there  is  another  phase  of  the  matter  that  needs 
attention  at  this  point.  Dinner  on  Sunday  in  the  major- 
ity of  Allentown  families  is  served  at  noon,  i.  e.,  at  12 
o'clock.  Servant  girls  cannot  go  to  the  morning  service 
at  least.  Nor  can  many  women  in  those  homes  where 
there  is  no  maid.  Allentown  housewives  are  good  cooks. 
They  are  proud  of  their  culinary  accomplishments,  and 
on  the  one  day  that  the  lord  and  master  of  the  house  is 
on  hand,  they  are  afforded  an  opportunity  to  show  what 
they  can  do.  There  are  many  who  will  not  risk  the 
quality  of  the  dinner  by  attending  church  services.  Re- 
peated observation  of  working  class  families  purchasing 
table  supplies  on  a  Saturday  night  has,  among  other 
things,  convinced  the  writer  that  the  responsibility  which 
this  supply  imposes  upon  the  cook  of  the  establishment 
does  not  permit  serious  consideration  of  church  attend- 
ance on  Sunday  morning  at  least. 

Many  wives  cannot  go  to  church  because  they  lack 
adequate  clothes.  To  include  this  among  the  causes 
which  actually  prevent  people  from  attending  church  ser- 
vices may  be  criticized.  Of  one  thing  is  the  writer  sure. 
The  women  who  will  criticize  this  inclusion  are  not  among 
those  who  are  habitually  or  frequently  in  this  predica- 
ment. The  fact  of  the  matter  is  that  in  the  average  work- 
ing class  family,  the  dress  of  the  wife  and  mother  indi- 
cates the  economic  status  of  the  family.  If  there  is  any 
shortage,  the  wife  and  mother  is  the  victim.  If  there 
are  any  sacrifices  to  be  made,  it  is  usually  the  mother 
who  fills  the  breach.  Woman's  attire  is,  at  the  simplest, 
a  complex  and  comprehensive  matter.  A  woman  may 
have  a  dress,  but  without  the  proper  hat  or  shoes,  she 
will  not  consider  as  public  an  appearance  as  church  at- 
tendance. She  may  have  hat,  shoes,  and  gloves,  but  with- 
out a  satisfactory  coat,  she  refuses  to  sit  even  in  the  rear 
pew.  It  simply  is  an  actual  fact  that  many  women  do 
not  go  to  church  because  they  lack  the  satisfactory  com- 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


93 


bination  of  clothes  which  the  characteristic  self-esteem 
of  the  sex  considers  indispensable. 

Besides  those  who  are  compelled  to  work  on  Sun- 
days or  the  preceding  Saturday  nights,  and  those  who 
cannot  go  to  church  because  they  lack  presentable 
clothes,  there  are  the  sick.  The  sick  are  a  constant  ele- 
ment in  any  population.  What  percentage  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  city  do  the  sick  form? 

This  is  a  pertinent  question.  The  City  Club,  of  Mil- 
waukee, made  a  sickness  census  of  the  city  on  Novem- 
ber 11th,  1916.  They  found  that  on  the  day  of  the  cen- 
sus 10  per  cent  of  the  entire  population  of  the  city  was 
sick. 

In  October,  1916,  the  United  States  Public  Health 
Service  published  the  result  of  a  sickness  survey  in 
North  Carolina.  The  survey  was  made  in  April,  1916, 
which,  it  was  pointed  out,  is  an  unusually  healthy  month 
in  North  Carolina.  It  was  found  that  3  per  cent  of  all 
those  people  canvassed  were  sick. 

The  report  on  **  National  Vitality,  Its  Wastes  and 
Conservation,"  in  the  findings  of  the  National  Conserva- 
tion Commission,  warrants  the  conclusion  that  between 
3  and  4  per  cent  of  the  population  of  the  United  States  are 
at  all  times  seriously  ill.  If  this  percentage  of  sickness 
be  assumed  for  Allentown,  with  its  population  of  75,000 
in  1917,  it  means  that  3,000  people,  in  round  numbers, 
are  seriously  ill  on  any  particular  Sunday.  Allowance 
must  be  made  in  addition  to  this  number  for  those  not  ser- 
iously ill  but  indisposed  to  an  extent  which  may  inter- 
fere with  church  attendance. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  a  number  of  groups 
which  for  any  one  or  more  of  a  number  of  reasons  are 
prevented  from  attending  church  services.  The  discus- 
sion is  by  no  means  exhaustive.  There  are  doubtless 
many  other  elements  which  fall  within  this  category 
to  which  no  attention  has  been  called.  The  writer  spent 
several  weeks  in  working  on  this  aspect  of  the  situation. 
It  was  a  source  of  constant  surprise  to  find  how  the  range 
and  extent  of  these  groups  grew.  Every  inquiry  and 
every  trip  through  the  city  on  Sundays  brought  forth 
additions  to  those  who  by  the  nature  of  their  situation 
were  outside  the  range  of  possibility  of  attending  church 
services.    No  doubt  if  the  investigation  could  have  been 


The  Churches  of  Alleniown 

more  exhaustive,  the  range  of  occupations  and  operative 
causes  could  have  been  shown  to  be  much  larger  than 
herein  mentioned. 

Totalling  those  groups  for  whom  numerical  esti- 
mates are  given  in  this  chapter,  and  making  a  reasonable 
allowance  for  those  groups  mentioned  without  concrete 
estimates,  there  is  every  reason  to  conclude  that  at  least 
15,000  people  in  the  city  of  Allentown  are,  on  any  par- 
ticular Sunday  of  the  year,  either  in  a  personal  or  an  oc- 
cupational condition  which  makes  attendance  at  church 
service  a  matter  of  extreme  inconvenience  or  utter  im- 
possibility. It  is  felt  that  an  estimate  of  15,000  is  very 
conservative. 

These  groups  exist  in  Allentown  as  they  do  in  any 
other  industrial  center.  They  form  an  element  which,  in 
any  discussion  of  church  attendance,  is  apt  to  be  over- 
looked, or  at  least  greatly  minimized.  Yet  it  will  be  no- 
ticed that  a  conservative  estimate  of  this  element  in  its 
entirety  is  greater  than  the  total  number  of  church  at- 
tendants in  the  entire  city. 

One  substantial  element  of  the  population,  then,  is 
not  in  church  on  Sunday  because  it  cannot  be  there. 
Whether  it  would  be  in  church  if  it  could,  is  another 
question  concerning  which  no  answer  is  ventured  in  this 
study. 

There  remain  to  be  considered  those  who  are  in  a 
position  to  go,  but  obviously  will  not  go.  What  are  they 
doing  on  a  Sunday? 

The  first  phase  of  the  situation,  considered  from  this 
angle,  is  the  large  number  of  people  who  can  be  seen  on 
the  streets  of  the  city  at  any  time  of  the  Sabbath  day 
that  one  may  select.  In  this  connection,  interest  is  direct- 
ed to  those  on  the  streets  during  the  hours  of  church  ser- 
vice. How  many  are  there?  Who  do  they  seem  to  be? 
What  are  they  doing! 

The  number  is  especially  large  during  the  time  of 
the  evening  service,  varying  of  course  with  the  time  of 
the  year  and  the  condition  of  the  weather.  However,  on 
almost  any  Sunday  evening  of  the  year,  between  7.30  and 
8.30  o'clock  (the  time  of  the  evening  services  in  this 
city),  one  finds  it  somewhat  difficult  to  walk  with  any 
degree  of  rapidity  on  certain  parts  of  the  main  streets 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


9S 


of  the  city,  due  to  the  number  of  people  promenading 
back  and  forth. 

While  the  study  of  church  attendance  was  in  prog- 
;ress,  an  effort  was  made  to  measure  the  numerical  pro- 
portions of  this  element.  Naturally,  the  one  way  to  de- 
'termine  upon  any  approximation  of  the  actual  number 
was  to  count  heads.  This  was  done,  and  in  the  following 
way.  Two  men,  of  whom  the  writer  was  one,  were  lo- 
cated at  the  western  end  of  the  main  street,  i.  e.,  Hamil- 
ton street.  One  man  was  located  at  the  point  where  Sixth 
street  runs  across  Hamilton  street,  another  man  where 
Seventh  street  runs  across  Hamilton  street,  and  another 
man  where  Tenth  street  runs  across  Hamilton  street. 
These  three  streets  are  fairly  well-travelled  streets.  Still 
another  person  was  located  at  the  western  end  of  Linden 
street,  running  parallel  to  Hamilton  street,  and  one  block 
north.  All  of  these  persons  started  walking  promptly  at 
7.30  o'clock,  the  time  when  church  services  began.  They 
walked  leisurely,  in  keeping  with  the  pace  of  the  average 
promenader,  and  counted  all  the  people  they  passed. 
People  walking  in  front  of  them  or  in  back  of  them  were 
not  counted.  The  entire  length  of  each  of  these  streets 
named  was  traversed.  A  total  of  4,356  people  were  re- 
ported by  the  enumerators.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that 
this  count  represents  the  people  walking  simply  in  one 
direction.  As  a  general  proposition,  it  may  be  assumed 
that  probably  as  many  were  walking  in  the  same  direc- 
tion as  the  enumerators.  This  is  certainly  true  of  the 
main  street,  although  not  entirely  of  the  streets  running 
crosswise,  for  in  these  cases,  the  enumerators  walked 
away  from  the  main  street  as  they  were  taking  their 
count,  and  it  seems  reasonable  to  suppose  that  at  this 
early  hour  in  the  evening,  more  people  were  walking 
towards  the  main  street  than  away  from  it.  Double  the 
number  reported  would  be  a  total  of  8,712  for  these  five 
streets.  Surely,  it  would  be  a  conservative  estimate  to 
say  that  7,500  people  were  walking  on  these  streets  dur- 
ing this  time.  When  it  is  realized  that  there  are  four- 
teen fairly  well-travelled  streets  running  parallel  to  Ham- 
ilton and  Linden  streets,  and  at  least  fifteen  well-travel- 
led streets  running  parallel  to  Sixth,  Seventh  and  Tenth 
streets,  disregarding  the  smaller  streets  in  between,  as 
well  as  the  alleys,  there  certainly  could  be  no  objection 


96  The  Churches  of  Allentown 

to  the  conclusion  that  there  were  between  15,000  and 
20,000  people  on  the  streets  this  particular  evening.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  the  evening  attendance  for  the 
Protestant  and  Hebrew  churches  was  given  at  7,500  in 
round  numbers. 

Most  of  the  people  encountered  on  the  streets  were 
young  people — an  almost  endless  procession  of  young 
men  and  young  women,  for  the  most  part  in  their  teens  or 
slightly  over,  walking  back  and  forth,  looking  and  wait- 
ing to  be  looked  at,  wooing  and  willing  to  be  wooed.  Un- 
doubtedly, the  parents  of  many  of  these  young  people 
believed  that  they  were  in  church.  This  excuse  is  often 
necessary  in  order  to  obtain  parental  consent  to  leave 
home  on  Sunday  evening.  But  the  writer  has  been  con- 
vinced that  there  is,  in  this  city,  a  most  marked  laxity 
of  parental  control  over  the  younger  members  of  the 
family. 

During  the  summer  of  1917,  as  this  thesis  was  being 
written,  a  United  States  Army  Ambulance  Camp  was 
located  within  the  boundaries  of  the  city.  As  many  as 
8,000  young  men  were  stationed  at  this  camp — Camp 
Crane — during  the  summer  and  early  fall.  During  this 
entire  time,  the  writer,  as  a  member  of  the  staff  of  a 
morning  newspaper,  was  obliged  to  be  on  the  streets  at 
all  hours  of  the  night.  The  number  of  young  girls,  many 
with  hair  in  braids  hanging  down  their  backs,  who  prom- 
enaded on  the  streets  every  evening  of  the  week,  is  al- 
most unbelievable.  Insistently  the  question  presented 
itself  to  the  writer:  "Where  are  the  parents  of  these  girls? 

Of  course,  in  the  case  of  girls  over  sixteen  years  of 
age,  certain  local  facts  have  their  bearing.  Very  many 
of  these  girls  work  in  the  numerous  silk  mills  of  the  city. 
They  are  self-supporting  for  the  most  part.  They  prob- 
ably contribute  to  the  family  income.  This  gives  to  them 
an  undue  independence  of  parental  supervision.  When 
a  seventeen-year-old  girl  helps  to  pay  the  landlord  or  the 
grocer,  it  is  somewhat  difficult  for  parents  to  interfere 
with  the  ^* pleasure*'  of  their  daughter. 

A  similar  enumeration  of  people  on  the  streets  dur- 
ing the  time  of  the  morning  service  was  also  made.  The 
same  streets  were  covered  in  the  same  way  as  was  done 
in  the  evening.  A  total  of  1,247  was  reported  for  these 
five  streets  during  the  morning  hour,  i.  e.,  from  10  to  H 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


97 


o  'clock.  On  this  basis,  it  would  seem  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  more  than  4,0(X)  people  were  on  the  streets  of 
the  city  during  the  hour  of  the  morning  service.  There 
were  men  going  for  their  Sunday  papers,  young  people 
making  short  visits  to  nearby  neighbors,  some  little  prom- 
enading, and  doubtless  the  running  of  many  errands. 

These  figures,  while  not  wholly  accurate,  give  at 
least  a  general  idea  of  the  numerical  proportion  of  one 
element  that  is  not  in  church.  It  is  the  element  that  is 
on  the  street  during  the  time  of  church  service. 

Another  group  to  be  considered  in  this  connection 
consists  of  those  inhabitants  of  the  city  who  go  out  of 
town  on  Sundays  to  take  trips  or  make  visits.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  there  are  a  large  number  of  people 
in  any  modern  city  whose  occupations  tie  them  down  the 
entire  week  the  year  around  and  who  seize  upon  the  Sab- 
bath day  as  the  one  day  available  for  purposes  of  this 
kind.  Some  of  the  Catholic  churches  in  the  city  have 
shown  a  disposition  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  need  of 
this  class,  and  at  least  one  of  the  larger  churches  of  this 
faith  observes  a  mass  on  Sunday  morning  at  five  o  'clock, 
permitting  certain  of  their  members  to  spend  the  day  out 
of  the  city,  and  yet  attend  the  service  of  the  church.  The 
Protestant  churches  pay  no  attention  to  this  group,  ex- 
cept in  certain  instances  to  condemn  it  for  its  wickedness. 

The  railroads  of  the  city  maintained  the  practice  for 
a  long  time  of  conducting  semi-monthly  excursions-— one 
a  month  to  New  York  City^  and  one  a  month  to  Wilkes- 
Barre.  The  ticket  agents  estimate  the  average  number 
of  those  leaving  the  city  on  these  trips  to  be  between  250 
and  300.  Since  the  time  of  this  study,  these  excursions 
have  been  discontinued,  but  at  the  time  that  the  attend- 
ance census  was  made,  they  were  being  conducted. 

In  addition  to  these  special  excursions,  there  are  the 
regular  trains  and  the  trolley  cars,  laden  with  people  on 
a  Sunday,  and  among  their  patrons  being  a  large  number 
of  people  leaving  the  city  in  the  morning  and  returning 
to  it  at  night.  It  is  next  to  impossible  to  estimate  the 
numerical  proportions  of  this  exodus  for  the  day,  but  it 
is  very  large.  It  is  an  element  which,  if  on  the  whole 
does  feel  a  prompting  to  attend  church  services,  pushes 
that  inner  urge  aside  for  the  pleasures  and  reliefs  of  a 


98 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


day  away  from  the  city  in  which  the  rest  of  the  week, 
perforce,  is  spent. 

This  study  would,  of  course,  not  be  complete  with- 
out reference  to  the  clubs  of  the  city.  That  these  com- 
pete with  the  church  as  attractions  on  the  Sabbath  day 
is  very  evident.  It  has  come  to  be  an  almost  constant 
item  in  any  discussion  of  the  church  and  the  keeping  of 
the  Sabbath  promptly  to  refer  to  the  country  club  and  its 
golf-playing  devotees.  After  all,  however,  the  number 
of  people  frequenting  a  country  club  on  the  Sabbath  day 
bears  a  small  proportion  to  the  total  population  of  a  city. 

The  fact  of  the  matter  is  that  the  club  problem  is  a 
much  more  extensive  one  than  a  pointed  reference  to 
country  clubs  would  suggest.  In  Allentown  in  1917, 
there  were  more  than  fifty  clubs,  open  or  secret,  where 
people  were  wont  to  gather  on  the  Sabbath  day.  Of 
these,  about  half  were  organizations  whose  regular  meet- 
ing time  was  on  Sunday.  Some  of  them  meet  every  Sun- 
day, some  every  second  Sunday,  and  some  every  fourth 
Sunday  of  the  month.  Perhaps  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
the  time  of  meeting  is  in  the  afternoon. 

The  other  half  of  these  organizations  keep  open 
house  on  the  Sabbath  as  they  do  any  other  day  of  the 
week,  only  usually  more  so.  Members  and  their  friends 
congregate  here  a  whole  Sunday  long,  talking,  indulging 
in  games  of  various  sorts,  eating,  and  drinking.  In  some 
of  the  cases,  the  main  purpose  of  the  day^s  meeting  os- 
tensibly is  that  of  sociability,  and  whatever  else  develops 
might  be  treated  as  incidental.  There  are  cases  where 
this  is  not  true,  but  where  the  obvious  purpose  is  the 
dispensation  of  liquid  refreshments,  otherwise  not  ob- 
tainable under  the  provisions  of  the  law.  The  sociability 
feature  is  incidental,  and  a  product. 

The  number  of  people  congregating  at  these  places 
on  any  particular  Sunday  cannot  be  estimated.  It  varies 
considerably  from  Sunday  to  Sunday,  but  there  is  a  cer- 
tain element  that  is  constant  in  its  faithfulness.  The 
number  is  very  large.  An  idea  can  be  gathered  from  a 
reference  to  the  most  largely  attended  of  these  clubs. 
The  membership  exceeds  2,000.  Neighbors  state,  and 
personal  observation  proves,  that  there  is  a  constant 
stream  of  people  in  and  out,  mostly  the  former,  from  4 
a.  m.  on  a  Sunday  morning  until  an  equally  unusual  hour 


ur    M 

m 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


99 


on  Monday  morning.  One  neighbor,  a  trained  observer, 
accustomed  to  making  estimates  of  numbers  of  people, 
states  that  it  is  his  observation  that  several  thousand 
people  patronize  the  organization  in  the  course  of  an 
ordinary  Sunday. 

There  exists  in  Allentown  this  curious  situation.  The 
town's  sentiment  is  definitely  hostile  to  the  opening  of 
moving  picture  houses  and  theaters  on  the  Sabbath  day. 
Even  meetings  of  an  educational  nature,  or,  as  has  re- 
cently been  observed,  meetings  referring  to  urgent  war 
work,  are  put  on  the  defensive  if  held  on  the  Sabbath 
day,  no  matter  if  the  hour  of  meeting  does  not  conflict 
with  the  time  of  meeting  of  any  religious  group.  Sim- 
ultaneously however,  there  exist,  in  relative  abundance, 
and  all  over  the  city,  clubs  which  are  wide  open  on  Sun- 
days, using  the  term  '^wide  open"  with  several  shades 
of  meaning.  It  is  a  most  inconsistent  situation,  wholly 
without  any  basis  of  logic. 

Not  all  of  the  agencies  competing  with  the  church 
have  been  mentioned  in  this  study.  Reference  has,  how- 
ever, been  made  to  the  more  significant  ones  from  the 
local  standpoint.  More  detailed  investigation  would  no 
doubt  reveal  numerous  others,  even  if  of  somewhat  lesser 
numerical  proportions.  The  whole  question  of  Sunday 
papers  would  bear  investigation,  inasmuch  as  some  6,000 
Sunday  papers  are  sold  in  the  city. 

The  situation  may  now  be  summarized.  To  begin 
with,  there  is  a  certain  element  in  the  city's  population 
which  is  fairly  regular  in  its  attendance  at  divine  ser- 
vices. It  is  a  numerical  minority.  This  is  very  evident. 
For  the  most  part,  it  is  the  prosperous  element  of  the 
population,  the  element  composed  of  those  with  whom 
things  are  well  here  on  earth,  and  who  seem  interested 
with  characteristic  foresight  that  things  be  well  with 
them  in  the  world  to  come. 

This  element  attends  church  for  many  reasons.  There 
are  the  truly  pious  ones.  There  are  those  who  welcome 
the  church  as  a  means  of  social  preferment  or  advance- 
ment. There  are  women  who  may  want  to  exhibit  their 
finery.  There  are  men  who  wish  to  clothe  themselves 
with  an  outer  garment  of  respectability.  There  are  maid- 
ens who  must  needs  keep  appointments,  in  the  evening. 
There  are  younger  members  of  the  family  to  whom  the 


100 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


gospel  is  brought,  figuratively,  as  it  was  to  the  medieval 
heathen,  at  the  point  of  the  sword.  But  at  any  rate,  they 
come  into  contact  with  the  church  and  its  ministrations, 
and  the  leaders  of  the  organization  have  at  least  an  op- 
portunity of  cultivating  the  vineyard.  What  the  fold  of 
the  increase  is,  is  still,  as  Kipling  says,  another  story. 

Then  there  are  those  who  are  obliged  either  to  work 
on  Sundays  or  to  work  the  night  preceding  and  following. 
Their  number  is  larger  than  most  people  appreciate.  On 
the  occasional  Sundays  which  they  '^have  off,''  they  do 
not  usually  go  to  church.  Church-going,  like  a  good 
many  other  things,  is  a  matter  of  habit.  They  do  not 
form  the  habit,  that  is  all.  Their  customary  employment 
makes  it  difficult. 

There  are  those  who  are  sick  or  who  lack  the  clothes 
which  are  satisfactory  to  themselves.  They,  too,  are  not 
in  church,  even  should  they  desire  to  be  there.  This 
again  is  a  large  and  constant  element. 

The  greatest  bulk  of  those  able  to  attend  but  who 
do  not,  spend  their  Sundays  somewhat  as  follows.  Work- 
ing regularly  during  the  week,  they  seize  upon  Sunday 
morning  as  the  one  possible  time  to  show  their  disdain 
of  the  alarm  clock.  Rising  late,  the  Sunday  papers  re- 
quire perusal.  There  may  be  other  little  odds  and  ends 
to  be  attended  to.  In  the  afternoon  there  are  social  con- 
tacts to  be  maintained.  These  may  be  in  the  club  rooms, 
at  a  neighbor's  house,  on  the  street,  at  the  corner  drug 
store  and  where  not.  These  social  excursions  may  ex- 
tend over  the  evening  hours.  Or  there  may  be  a  trip  out 
of  the  city,  or  an  entertainment  of  friends  from  out  of 
the  city,  visiting  in  turn.  In  short,  Sunday  is  a  day  to 
be  spent  as  one  desires,  a  day  fre^  from  the  restraint  and 
grind  of  the  week,  a  day  for  one's  self.  Accustomed  the 
entire  week  to  routine,  the  Spirit  rebels  against  the  rout- 
ine of  weekly  church  attendance  or  the  routine  of  the  ser- 
vice. Routine  is  the  one  thing  to  be  escaped.  And  that 
is  what  church  seems  to  mean  primarily.  Only  those 
who  are  bound  to  their  work  for  six  days  each  week  can 
appreciate  this  attitude  of  mind.  It  is  an  entirely  reason- 
able an(J  an  entirely  natural  attitude. 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


101 


The  purpose  of  the  study  summarized  in  this  chapter 
has  not  been  to  blame  or  to  criticize.  The  intent  has  been 
to  explain,  to  show  what  happens  in  actual  practice,  with 
incidental  suggestions  as  to  the  reasons.  This  aspect  of 
,the  matter  is  frequently  overlooked.  Yet  it  is  essential 
ito  a  scientific  study  of  the  whole  matter. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

OTHER  ASPECTS  OF  SOCIAL  CONTROL  IN  ALLENTOWN. 

**The  church/'  says  Prof.  Hayes  in  his  ^^Introduc- 
tion to  the  Study  of  Sociology/'  *'has  always  been,  and 
today  is  mainly,  an  agency  for  disseminating  ideas  and 
evoking  sentiments  which  shape  the  inner  springs  of 
conduct.  *  *  *  "We  must  recall  that  the  same  human 
organization  may  be  set  to  play  any  tune  from  ^  The  Mes- 
siah' to  *The  Devil's  Hornpipe,'  that  potentially  man 
has  as  many  stories  as  a  skyscraper  and  he  needs  an  ele- 
vator if  he  wishes  to  live  on  the  highest  level,  that  man 
is  like  a  watch  that  must  be  wound  up  or  it  is  sure  to 
run  down,  like  an  engine  propelled  by  storage  batteries 
that  must  frequently  be  recharged,  that,  in  literal  phrase- 
ology, human  life  is  the  most  variable  of  phenomena  and 
that  it  is  a  matter  of  cause  and  effect,  and  we  can  expect 
the  best  effects  in  character  and  work  and  worth,  only 
on  condition  of  supplying  the  necessary  conditions.  And 
these  conditions  are  largely  to  be  found  in  the  regular 
currents  of  social  suggestion  and  radiation  with  which 
we  surround  ourselves.  The  church  stands  for  the  de- 
liberate endeavor  to  seek  and  supply  the  social  condi- 
tions essential  to  the  highest  life.  *  *  *  Second,  the 
church  appears  to  have  a  permanent  function  not  only 
as  an  agency  of  individual  development,  but  also  as  the 
organ  for  giving  effective  social  expression  to  purely 
ethical  aims." 

The  preceding  chapters  represent  the  result  of  an 
inquiry  to  determine  what  proportion  of  the  population 
in  one  city  come  into  working  contact  with  the  organiza- 
tion which  has  the  function  and  renders  the  services 
which  this  quotation  suggests.  It  has  been  shown  that 
a  substantial  part  of  the  population  of  Allentown  has  no 
formal  connection  with  the  church.  Even  though  there  ex- 
ist several  small  religious  organizations  which  may,  per- 
chance, not  be  included  in  this  study,  and  granting  for 
the  sake  of  argument  that  the  allowance  made  for  those 
residents  having  formal  connection  with  churches  out- 


A  Study  in  Statistics 


103 


side  of  the  city  is  inadequate,  the  fact  nevertheless  re- 
mains that  an  appreciable  number  of  people  in  this  city, 
with  its  large  element  of  pious  Pennsylvania  Germans, 
is  not  connected  even  through  the  formality  of  affiliation 
with  any  church  organization. 

Still  more  important  is  the  result  of  our  attend- 
ance study.  Granting  again,  for  the  sake  of  argument 
or  liberality,  that  any  and  all  the  criticisms  which  may 
be  directed  against  the  manner  of  taking  that  census  are 
true,  granting  that  every  single  person  in  the  city  of 
Catholic  and  Greek  Orthodox  faith  is  in  attendance 
every  Sunday  of  the  year,  the  fact  again  stands  unchal- 
lenged that  the  church  in  Allentown  comes  into  habitual 
contact  with  a  minority  of  the  people  of  the  city.  In 
fact,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  it  comes  into  contact 
at  all  with  only  a  minority  of  the  population. 

It  has  been  shown  that  a  part  of  the  majority  out- 
side of  the  church  is  unable,  by  reason  of  varied  influ- 
ences, to  come  into  contact  with  any  of  the  religious  or- 
ganizations of  the  city.  Another  part  could,  but  will  not, 
again  for  any  number  of  reasons,  either  within  them- 
selves or  within  the  church,  come  into  contact  with  it. 

Two  courses  of  action,  or  may  it  be  said,  two  ave- 
nues of  approach  are  open  at  this  point.  One  may  seek 
to  determine  why  more  people  are  not  affiliated  with,  and 
in  contact  with,  the  Allentown  churches,  and  seek  to  im- 
prove the  condition  in  this  respect.  Or  one  may  accept 
the  situation  as  it  exists  in  regard  to  the  churches  and 
turn  to  other  agencies.  This  latter  course  will  be  follow- 
ed here. 

The  essence  of  the  thesis  to  be  presented  is  this. 
The  church  comes  into  actual  contact,  and  influences,  but 
a  minority  of  the  people  in  this  city.  Even  if  its  influ- 
ence upon  this  minority  is  all  that  can  be  desired,  there 
remains  the  majority  to  be  considered.  Whatever  of  re- 
ligious, moral  and  ethical  influence  that  is  brought  to 
bear  upon  this  majority  under  actually  existing  condi- 
tions, must  come  from  some  other  source.  Whatever 
standards  of  conduct  are  evolved,  whatever  sense  of 
values  is  developed,  whatever  conceptions  of  right  and 
wrong  are  formed,  whatever  notion  of  individual  and 
social  responsibility  is  held,  all  these  are,  among  the  ma- 
jority of  the  citizenship  of  Allentown,  the  product  of 


104 


The  Churches  of  Allentown 


other  forces  than  the  direct  touch  of  the  religious  agen- 
cies and  organizations.  This  fact  should  be  recognized, 
both  by  the  church  and  these  other  agences.  This  is  the 
first  necessary  step. 

What  has  been  said  is  not  said  necessarily  either  in 
despair  of  or  in  criticism  of  the  churches  of  Allentown. 
The  church  does  a  certain  work  in  the  city.  Most  men 
would  place  a  certain  value  upon  that  work.  But  there 
is  very  much  work  of  a  similar  or  extended  nature  in  this 
community  which  it  does  not  do,  cannot  do,  and  is  prob- 
ably not  destined  to  do.  Our  big  mistake  in  the  past  has 
been  our  failure  to  appreciate  this.  The  churches 
have  been  too  jealous  of  the  stars  in  their  crowns,  and 
have  too  often  contented  themselves  with  heaping  male- 
dictions upon  the  heads  of  the  other  agencies.  On  the  oth- 
er hand,  these  other  agencies  have  been  too  indifferent 
to,  or  unaware  of,  their  tremendous  influence  and  possi- 
bilities. 

Let  the  real  facts  of  the  situation  then  be  recogniz- 
ed. They  may  or  may  not  be  what  men  prefer  or  think 
best.  Only,  only  they  are  so.  It  is  not  what  may  be, 
should  be,  or  might  be,  that  is  the  basis  upon  which  to 
proceed.  It  is  a  matter  after  all  of  what  is.  We  must 
paint  the  picture  to  the  God  of  things  as  they  are.  We 
must  find  what  agencies  in  actual  practice  touch  the 
lives  of  the  greater  number  of  people.  If  the  church 
touches  the  lives  of  only  a  minority,  it  is  important  to 
know  the  agencies  which  touch  directly  the  lives  of  the 
majority.  What  are  these  agencies?  Whence  receive 
the  majority  of  people  their  ideas,  their  standards,  their 
sentiments!  What  other  agencies  disseminate  ideas  and 
evoke  sentiments  which  shape  the  inner  springs  of  con- 
duct? What  other  agencies  perform  the  function  of 
**  giving  effective  social  expression  to  purely  ethical 
aims!*'  What  other  currents  of  social  suggestion  are 
there  in  the  city? 

First  to  be  considered  here,  although  not  necessarily 
first  in  importance,  is  the  motion  picture.  Since  the 
movement  arose  some  twenty  years  ago  in  France,  there 
has  come  to  be  scarcely  a  spot  in  the  civilized  world 
where  the  motion  picture  has  not  penetrated.  Allen- 
town is  no  exception.  In  1916,  a  rather  detailed  study  of 
the  movies  of  the  city  was  made  by  Mr.  C.  Luther  Fry, 


study  in  Statistics 


105 


a  member  of  the  then  Senior  class  at  Muhlenberg  Col- 
lege. Mr.  Fry  is  a  capable  and  conscientious  young  man, 
who  afterwards  was  graduated  with  first  honors.  The 
study  was  made  at  the  instigation  and  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  writer,  and  covered  a  period  of  over  a  year. 
It  was  extensive  and  complete. 

Mr.  Fry  found  twelve  moving  picture  theatres  in  the 
city.  A  study  of  the  attendance  of  all  of  these  revealed, 
for  the  year  as  a  whole,  an  average  weekly  attendance 
of  about  7,000.  Of  course,  one  dare  not  say  that  the  num- 
ber of  persons  attending  weekly  is  six  times  the  daily  at- 
tendance. Mr.  Fry  attended  theaters  constantly  in  an 
effort  to  determine  to  what  extent  that  attendance  was 
a  steady  one,  i.  e.,  to  what  extent  the  same  faces  were  to 
be  seen  every  second  day,  every  week,  or  every  two  weeks. 
His  conclusions  are  interesting.  **I  believe,''  he  writes, 
*  taking  it  month  by  month,  that  the  average  patron  goes 
to  movies  about  once  a  week.  From  this  it  is  evident  that 
we  are  dealing  with  an  enterprise  of  enormous  propor- 
tions, one  that  influences  the  lives  of  at  least  sixty  per 
cent  of  the  population  of  Allentown."  ^  Elsewhere,  he 
concludes  that  eighty-five  per  cent  of  this  number  are 
adults. 

The  influence  of  the  movies  is  tremendous,  speaking 
quantitatively.  The  motion  picture  speaks  in  the  con- 
crete. It  is  a  rather  selective  type  of  person  who  moulds 
his  or  her  conduct  by  abstract  thought  and  pure  reflec- 
tion. The  average  person  thinks  of  right  and  wrong  in 
the  nature  of  concrete  examples.  The  unseen  is  of  scant 
moment.  The  strong  stimuli  to  the  senses  of  the  con- 
crete— that  it  is  which  thrusts  forward  definite  exer- 
tions. The  example  of  the  enemy  who  follows  to  the 
death;  the  awakened  wit  that  casts  about  to  baffle  the 
cunning  of  the  rival;  the  imagery  of  hate,  love,  terror, 
daring,  goodness  and  honesty,  all  elemental  emotions; 
concentrate  thought  and  momentarily  rouse  inner  forces 
of  both  young  and  old.  These  concrete  cases  start  cur- 
rents of  thought  and  direct  them  by  the  nearest  and  most 
intimate  stimuli.  They  utilize  material  from  immemor- 
ial sources  and  set  forth  the  life  processes  in  popular 
form.    The  very  evils  of  the  movies  which  the  pulpit  ex- 

1  From  an  unpublished  manuscript. 


106 


le  Churches  of  Allentown 


ploits  in  general  and  the  press  in  its  particular  products, 
prove  what  is  here  claimed,  and  that  is  that  the  screen 
is  a  mighty  and  powerful  influence  in  the  dissemination 
of  ideas  and  the  evoking  of  sentiments  which  shape  the 
inner  springs  of  conduct. 

As  this  was  being  written,  there  came  to  hand,  in 
confidence,  a  most  significant  story.  A  married  woman 
had  illicit  relations  with  a  man  who  was  not  her  hus- 
band. Certain  friends,  aware  of  the  relationship,  at- 
tempted to  dissuade  her,  but  of  no  avail.  Finally,  it  so 
happened  that,  on  successive  days  and  in  different  thea- 
ters, she  saw  portrayed  on  the  screen  very  vividly  the 
*  ^  Final  Payment. ' '  Each  story  approximated  or  coincid- 
ed with  her  own.  The  impression  created  by  these  filmed 
concrete  stories  did  what  the  persuasion  of  friends 
could  not  do.  They  effected  a  ^^readjustment  of  atten- 
tion which  brought  into  the  middle  of  the  stage  in  her 
mental  drama  the  ennobling  ideas  and  sent  away  from 
the  spotlight  of  attention  the  ideas  that  drag  life  down. ' ' 
And  what  is  this  but,  in  the  religious  sense,  ^  ^  being  born 
again?'*  Whether  the  conversion  in  this  particular  case 
is  destined  to  be  a  lasting  one  cannot  be  foretold.  Suf- 
fice it  to  remember  that  many  conversions  which  the 
church  stages  are  not  permanent. 

It  is  but  the  truth  to  say  that  the  motion  picture 
theaters  of  the  city  are  more  influential  than  the  churches. 
They  touch  the  lives  of  more  people  than  do  the  churches. 
They  speak  in  simpler,  plainer,  more  appealing  and  un- 
derstandable language  than  the  preachers.  Their  influ- 
ence may  not  be  all  that  is  desired.  The  above  state- 
ment is  the  statement  of  a  quantitative  measurement, 
not  of  a  qualitative  comparison.  The  screen  is  a  mighty 
agency,  for  good  or  for  evil.  It  has  great  potentialities. 
Whether  these  are  used  for  good  or  for  evil  depends  upon 
direction. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  motion  picture  is  true  of 
the  legitimate  stage,  and  the  influence  of  the  moving  pic- 
ture theater  is  similar  to  that  of  the  theater  of  the  spok- 
en word.  There  are  two  such  theaters  in  the  city  of  Al- 
lentown. One  is  devoted  to  vaudeville,  the  other  to 
drama  and  opera.  The  seating  capacity  of  the  latter  is 
close  on  to  1,500,  that  of  the  former  very  near  to  that 
figure.    Both  are  crowded  almost  nightly.    Matinees  are 


A  study  in  Siatistics  107 

numerous  and  well  attended.  If  everything  that  has 
been  alleged  against  the  theater,  from  the  time  of  the 
English  Puritans  down  to  the  Rev.  William  Sunday,  be 
true,  it  but  proves  what  is  our  main  contention.  And 
that  is  the  influence  of  the  theater.  If  much  of  that  which 
is  produced  on  the  boards  smacks  of  back-alley  Parisian 
indecency,  or  hectic  melodrama,  and  the  influence  of 
these  is  markedly  bad,  that  does  not  change  the  circum- 
stance which  this  thesis  alleges.  Neither  does  the  whole- 
someness  of  **The  Man  From  Home,'*  *  * Pollyanna, ' '  or 
*^ Peter  Pan''  effect  our  thesis.  What  it  is  sought  to 
stress  here  is  that  the  theaters  in  this  city  touch  the 
lives  of,  and  influence,  for  good  or  for  evil,  a  large  number 
of  people.  ^^Pollyanna"  preaches  a  more  effective  ser- 
mon with  its  concrete  story  than  any  abstract  effort  of 
any  Allentown  preacher  on  the  theme  of  gladness — this, 
personified,  is  our  contention. 

It  is  absolutely  remarkable  how  little  serious 
thought  is  everywhere  given  to  the  press.  It  is  perhaps 
because  it  is  so  common  an  object  that  it  is  so  seldom  the 
subject  of  serious  reflection.  The  female  of  the  species 
is  apt  to  think  of  it  mainly  as  the  vehicle  for  bargain 
prices  or  the  expression  of  organized  gossip.  The  busi- 
ness man  considers  it  as  an  avenue  for  advertising.  Cooks, 
butlers,  clerks  and  workers  think  of  it  seriously  only  as 
a  clearing  house  for  want  ads.  Actors,  singers,  authors 
and  pugilists  each  read  their  special  coluffins  and  wonder 
when  the  editor  intends  to  engage  some  one  really  ac- 
quainted with  the  only  subject  worth  reading.  Politi- 
cians read  it  with  smirking  assent  or  explosive  repudia- 
tion. Athletes  secretly  clip  and  file  all  references  to 
themselves  and  subconsciously  wonder  why  the  sporting 
page  is  not  the  front  page.  Old  women  and  mellow  men 
read  the  obituary  column  and  feel  that  the  paper  is  in- 
teresting and  startling,  or  the  reverse,  depending  upon 
the  length  of  this  column.  Finally  there  is  the  general 
reader  who  wants  all  the  news,  transcribed  with  finished 
skill,  and  presented  in  the  most  pleasing  and  flattering, 
or  most  scathing  and  sarcastic,  manner  possible.  All  of 
these  groups  have  on  their  lips  the  daily  threat  of  stop- 
ping the  reading  of  the  paper,  all  loudly  acclaim  that  the 
paper  if  ^  *  full  of  lies, ' '  yet  every  single  one  of  them  greed- 
ily devours  the  latest  edition  and,  in  his  or  her  heart  of 


108  The  Churches  of  Allentown 

hearts,  accepts  its  *  ^  stories ' '  with  all  of  that  implicit  trust 
which  most  persons  have  in  the  printed  word.  What 
is  enshrined  in  print  comes  before  the  community  with 
peculiar  force,  all  other  statements  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding. 

Everybody  reads  the  paper.  It  penetrates  into  every 
nook  and  corner,  it  speaks  to  all  classes,  it  influences 
all  elements.  The  extensiveness  of  the  influence  of  the 
press  in  this  city  can  perhaps  best  be  measured  by  re- 
course to  data  on  circulation.  There  are  five  daily  papers 
published  in  Allentown.  Their  combined  circulation, 
as  reported  to  the  government,  is  about  47,000.  Not  all 
of  this  circulation  however  is  confined  to  the  city.  There 
is,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  two  morning  papers,  a 
large  circulation  in  the  neighboring  towns,  villages  and 
hamlets.  Accurate  data  on  the  exclusive  city  circulation 
of  these  five  dailies  were  not  obtained.  Inquiry  among 
two  of  them  however  justifies  the  conclusion  that  be- 
tween 25,000  and  30,000  of  this  circulation  is  in  the  city 
itself.  In  addition  to  the  local  dailies,  there  is  a  wide- 
spread circulation  of  metropolitan  dailies.  Accepting  the 
returns  from  the  two  city  agencies  which  handle  these 
metropolitan  dailies,  between  6,000  and  6,500  of  them 
circulate  in  the  city  during  each  of  the  six  days  of  the 
week.  Adding  this  to  the  circulation  of  the  local  dailies, 
it  is  evident  that  virtually  every  family  in  the  city  re- 
ceives two  daily  papers.  This  is  an  average,  with  excep- 
tions on  both  sides  of  the  fence.  Surely  data  such  as 
these  indicate  most  clearly  that  the  modern  newspaper 
is  of  all  private  institutions  the  most  comprehensive  in 
influence  and  function.  No  mechanism  of  communication 
and  expression  is  so  pervasive  and  characteristic  as  the 
daily  press. 

The  daily  press  in  Allentown,  as  in  any  other  city 
in  the  United  States,  is  a  powerful  and  influential  agency. 
*^It  is  hard  for  a  man  to  estimate  its  power  even  in  his 
own  country,'^  says  Bryce  in  "The  American  Common- 
wealth, ' '  "  and  of  its  action  in  America  I  speak  with  dif- 
fidence, feeling  how  much  more  there  is  to  be  known 
than  I  know.'^  ^  This  summarizes  the  truth  for  perhaps 
all  of  us. 


2  Volume  II.  p.  233.    (1889  Edition). 


A  Study  in  Statistics  109 

One  of  the  most  powerful  means  of  social  control  is 
public  opinion.  ''Public  opinion,''  says  Hayes,  ''con- 
trols by  keeping  constantly  before  the  mind  the  idea  that 
certain  courses  of  action  will  be  rewarded  with  reputa- 
tion, respect  and  friendship,  while  other  courses  will  be 
punished  with  ostracism,  hatred  and  contempt.  The 
ideas  which  we  have  concerning  public  opinion,  like 
those  we  have  of  law,  both  define  the  nature  of  the  acts 
that  will  be  rewarded  and  punished,  and  fix  the  degree 
of  recompense  anticipated.  It  is  the  idea  a  man  has  con- 
cerning public  opinion  that  governs  him.  Hence,  what- 
ever spreads  abroad  the  idea  that  society  is  lax  in  its 
standards  and  negligent  in  its  responses,  reduces  its  con- 
trol over  its  members,  and  whatever  spreads  the  idea 
that  society  is  exalted  and  exacting  in  its  standards  and 
emphatic  in  its  condemnations  and  approvals,  enhances 
its  control. ' '  ^ 

In  view  of  these  facts,  the  press  assumes  a  tremen- 
dous responsibility  and  has  a  most  significant  function  .It 
sets  forth  the  vicious,  the  depraved,  and  the  criminal.  It 
catalogues  anti-social,  and  to  an  extent,  non-social  acts, 
with  the  illustration  of  their  consequences.  It  shows 
to  all  men  what  all  men  should  know — that  anti-social 
conduct  can  count  on  social  execration.  Similarly,  the 
press  emphasizes  the  well-behaved  and  the  good,  the  or- 
derly and  the  successful.  It  stresses  the  activities  put 
forth  to  improve  society.  The  press  does  this  more  than 
most  people  will  confess.  Readers  are  not  so  startled  and 
impressed  with  news  of  this  kind.  A  half -column  story 
of  a  suicide  or  murder  attracts  more  attention  than  a 
column  or  half -column  story  of  the  plans  of  the  Vacant 
Lot  Farmers'  Association  for  the  coming  summer,  yet 
they  stand  side  by  side.  The  press  shows  to  all  men  what 
all  men  ought  to  know,  that  upright  conduct  and  socially 
beneficial  conduct  can  count  on  social  approval  and  ap- 
preciation. The  press  "tends  powerfully,  thru  publicity, 
to  enforce  a  popular,  somewhat  vulgar,  but  sound  and 
human  standard  of  morality."  * 

Of  course,  the  press  nowhere  does  this  perfectly. 
Mistakes  are  made,  over-emphasis  and  under-emphasis 
there  are.    But  on  the  whole  the  situation  in  Allentown, 

3  "Introduction  to  Sociology,"  pp.  681,  682. 

4  Cooley.    "Social  Organization."  p.  85. 


110  The  Churches  of  Atl&niown 

and  perhaps  everywhere,  can  be  well  illustrated  by  a 
story  told  of  an  old  judge  who  was  asked  what  sort  of  a 
circuit  he  had  had.  **Well,  much  like  other  circuits/' 
he  answered.  *  ^  There  were  a  good  many  verdicts  for  the 
defendant  that  ought  to  have  been  for  the  plaintiff,  and 
a  good  many  verdicts  for  the  plaintiff  that  ought  to  have 
been  for  the  defendant.  But,  on  the  whole,  justice  was 
done. ' ' 

Especially  direct  as  an  influence  in  the  moulding  and 
shaping  of  public  opinion  is  the  editorial  page.  The  edi- 
torial page  of  the  Allentown  papers  has,  in  recent  years, 
undergone  a  marked  transition.  Time  was  when  purchas- 
ed plate  matter  and  the  liberal  use  of  shears  and  paste 
pot  were  the  Alpha  and  Omega  of  editorial  preparation. 
Today,  the  editorial  writers  of  the  Allentown  dailies  are 
writing  upon  a  variety  of  topics,  and,  for  the  most  part, 
in  a  readable  and  purposeful  manner.  Partisan  politics 
have  to  a  great  extent  been  banned.  News  is  being  in- 
telligently commented  upon,  with  commendation  or  con- 
demnation as  is  considered  justifiable ;  national,  commun- 
ity and  moral  questions  are  discussed.  One  of  the  daily 
papers  devotes  its  editorial  column  almost  entirely  to  the 
discussion  of  religious,  moral  or  ethical  themes.  An- 
other city  paper  has  an  editorial  of  a  moral  nature  every 
Saturday  morning,  with  frequent  digressions  in  that 
direction  during  the  other  days  of  the  we^ek.  The  social 
emphasis  in  the  Allentown  editorial  columns  is  marked. 

It  is  impossible  to  state  how  widely  the  editorial 
page  is  read  in  this  city.  A  year 's  experience  as  editorial 
writer  on  the  Allentown  Morning  Call  has  convinced  the 
writer  that  it  is  read  more  frequently  and  more  general- 
ly than  is  commonly  supposed. 

Besides  giving  form  and  weight  to  the  sanctions  of 
public  opinion,  ^Hhe  press  exercises  another  form  of  so- 
cial control,  a  control  that  is  not  dependent  upon  sanc- 
tions but  results  directly  through  social  suggestion,  sym- 
pathetic radiation,  and  imitation.  Without  regard  to 
what  the  government  may  do  or  what  others  may  do  to 
us  or  think  about  us,  each  one  has  an  inner  stream  of 
ideas  and  sentiments  which  is  the  essence  of  life,  and 
the  control  of  which  is  the  individual's  prime  concern  if 
he  wishes  to  make  something  of  himself,  and  is  society's 


A  Study  in  Statistics  111 

deepest  concern  in  its  attempts  to    control    its    mem- 
bers. ' '  ^ 

The  press  gives  to  attention  its  bent.  And  atten- 
tion is  the  determinant  of  conscious  life.  That  which 
occupies  the  attention  of  men  is  that  which,  as  conscious 
beings,  they  are,  and  is  that  which  they  will  do;  while 
that  which  has  no  place  in  their  attention  is  for  them 
as  if  it  were  not.  This  direction  of  public  attention  gives 
to  the  reporter  and  the  editor  a  powerful  influence  in  the 
community.  The  reporter  tells  his  story.  He  is  suppos- 
ed to  narrate  the  facts.  But  there  are  ways  and  ways  of 
reciting  the  facts,  even  where  there  is  no  bias  or  partial- 
ity. Every  experienced  newspaper  man  knows  that  a 
mere  recital  of  facts  can  be  given  in  a  number  of  differ- 
ent ways,  each  strictly  true  and  impartial,  yet  each  cre- 
ating a  different  influence.  Even  in  the  most  colorless 
story  there  is  a  certain  attitude  or  atmosphere  which  has 
escaped  from  the  writer.  There  are,  too,  any  number  of 
little  tricks  of  the  trade  which  every  news  writer  is 
aware  of,  and  practices  at  times  either  deliberately  or 
unconsciously. 

As  this  is  being  written,  there  comes  to  attention  a 
fine  case  of  social  suggestion.  An  Allentown  daily  print- 
ed a  story  of  the  arrest  of  a  fourteen-year-old  girl,  un- 
believably loose  in  morals  and  in  an  advanced  stage  of 
syphilis.  The  story  was  masterfully  written  and  less 
than  a  quarter  of  a  column  in  length.  Both  her  immor- 
ality and  physical  condition  were  told  practically  be- 
tween the  lines  of  the  story.  It  is  our  sincere  judgment, 
on  the  basis  of  the  numerous  contacts  with  the  public 
mind  which  newspaper  work  establishes,  that  that  little 
story  did  more  to  prepare  a  substantial  part  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  city  for  a  law  dealing  with  syphilis  on  a  basis 
of  social  protection  than  any  address,  lecture,  appeal, 
sermon,  or  what  not.  Examples  like  this  are  a  matter 
of  almost  daily  observation  to  men  engaged  in  the  news- 
paper business. 

Again,  it  is  difficult,  to  put  it  in  the  vernacular,  to 
*^put  anything  across''  without  the  aid  of  the  press.  In 
fact,  the  combined  influence  of  the  press  in  a  city  like 
Allentown  can  make  or  break  any  public  project.    There 

5  Hayes.  "Introduction  to  Sociology."  p.  683. 


112  The  Churches  of  Allentown 

may  come  to  mind  cases  of  political  victories  where  this 
has  not  been  true.  These  may  be  the  exceptions  which 
prove  the  rule.  Or,  what  is  more  likely  to  be  the  case, 
the  blatant  partisanship  manifested  in  such  cases  de- 
feats the  very  purpose  which  it  seeks  to  accomplish.  One 
knows  of  cases  where  the  obvious  hounding  of  men  by 
certain  newspapers  increases  in  just  that  proportion  the 
number  of  his  stalwart  friends.  But  in  the  great  ma- 
jority of  cases,  where  there  is  no  evidence  of  prejudice 
or  partisanship  that  appears  on  the  surface,  or  where 
there  really  is  none,  a  project  moves  in  exact  ratio  with 
the  amount  of  printer  *s  ink  that  is  used. 

What  is  the  influence  of  the  daily  press?  This  is  a 
question  upon  which  those  who  administer  the  influence 
are  best  able  to  speak.  Let  us  cite  therefore  at  this  point 
the  opinion  of  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  press  in  this 
city. 

Percy  B.  Ruhe  is  the  editor-in-chief  of  the  Allen- 
town  Morning  Call,  the  local  paper  with  the  largest  cir- 
culation. An  Allentonian  does  not  conceive  of  Mr.  Ruhe 
and  the  Morning  Call  separately.  The  two  stand  asso- 
ciated in  the  public  mind.  He  is  a  man  of  high  ideals, 
both  personally  and  professionally,  and  has  some  big 
local  movements  as  monuments  to  his  activity.  Concern- 
ing this  matter,  he  made  the  following  statement : 

**In  the  days  of  tradition  men  secured  information 
thru  their  ears.  They  were  ear-minded.  The  child  of 
today,  under  the  age  of  six,  with  its  ability  to  imitate 
most  accurately  the  voices  and  inflections  of  other  peo- 
ple, to  learn  foreign  languages,  to  commit  to  memory 
lengthy  bits  of  prose  and  poetry,  is  the  best  illustration 
at  hand  of  primitive  man. 

*^  Since  the  days  of  the  printing  press,  men  and  wo- 
men more  and  more  have  become  eye-minded.  Those 
things  which  come  to  them  thru  the  sense  of  sight  make 
strong  impressions  upon  them.  Other  senses  become 
dulled  in  the  extreme  use  put  to  the  eyes  in  bringing  in- 
formation. 

*  *  Can  we  not  seek  the  cause  of  the  comparatively  less- 
ened influence  of  the  oral  word  and  of  the  increasing  in- 
fluence of  the  press  in  this  elementary  and  highly  im- 
portant factor  in  the  manner  in  which  civilized  man  is 
securing  his  ijifprmationl 


A  Study  in  Statistics  113 


a 


I  have  frequently  said  to  clergymen:  *The  news- 
paperman has  a  far  larger  audience  than  any  clergyman 
can  ever  hope  to  have.  He  can  hold  that  audience  for 
hours  and  he  can  hold  it  not  only  for  one  day  per  week, 
but  seven,  and  he  does  not  have  to  confine  his  ministra- 
tions to  a  limited  number  of  services  per  day/  The 
clergyman  envies  the  newspaperman's  strategic  position, 
for  he  realizes  it  fully.  Yet  only  the  sensational  preach- 
ers to  date  have  much  availed  themselves  of  the  great 
opportunities  afforded  them  thru  the  press. 

^'It  might  be  added  that  there  is  an  almost  childish 
acceptance  by  the  great  majority  of  readers  of  what  the 
newspaper  contains.  The  regard  amounts  to  an  almost 
religious  faith  with  many.  There  is  little  question  and 
little  or  no  demand  for  authority.  The  spoken  word  is 
far  more  apt  to  fall  on  ears  that  hear  not  than  the  printed 
word  upon  eyes  that  see  not. 

"  ^I  see  by  the  paper,'  is  the  final  authority  of  mil- 
lions. 'The  paper  says,'  is  the  ipse  dixit  for  the  news- 
paper reader. 

"With  such  an  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  people, 
how  important  it  becomes  that  the  newspapers  of  the 
country  should  be  directed  by  men  of  the  highest  ideals 
of  service,  with  the  strictest  regard  for  truth  and  jus- 
tice, and  with  ability  and  energy  to  seek  and  arrive  at 
the  truth.  The  paper  has  become  the  pulpit  for  millions 
and  it  is  incumbent  that  from  this  pulpit  should  come 
the  voice  of  truth,  the  thunder  of  justice,  and  the  highest 
ideals  of  mercy,  sympathy  and  service.  More  and  more 
are  such  ideals  being  realized.  More  and  more  are  there 
men  in  the  journalistic  profession  who  see  in  its  labors 
the  great  opportunities  for  service  to  their  fellowmen." 

Similarly  do  we  wish  to  quote  William  L.  Hartman. 
If  one  does  not  in  Allentown  dissociate  Percy  B.  Ruhe 
and  the  Morning  Call,  one  certainly  does  not  in  this  com- 
munity dissociate  the  newspaper  profession  and  Wil- 
liam L.  Hartman.  For  thirty-eight  years,  his  waking 
hours  have  been  taken  up  with  newspaper  work.  He 
knows  the  profession,  and  he  knows  the  city  and  its  peo- 
ple, as  few  men  in  Allentown  know  them.  He  is  careful 
and  exacting  in  his  work,  judicially  minded,  and  not  giv- 
en to  making  rash  statements.    He  is  at  present  the  city 


114  The  Churches  of  Allentown 

editor  of  the  Morning  Call.  His  statement  on  this  mat- 
ter follows : 

*'The  press  of  Allentown  has  been  a  distinct,  vital 
and  virile  force  for  good  in  the  life  of  the  city.  Looking 
back  over  an  experience  of  thirty-eight  years  with  papers 
in  Allentown,  I  unhesitatingly  make  this  statement. 

* '  The  newspapers  have  ever  been  in  the  van  in  move- 
ments tending  to  the  moral  uplift  of  the  city  and  its  in- 
habitants. No  propaganda  has  been  started  in  Allen- 
town for  the  moral  benefit  of  its  people  but  had  back  of 
it  all  the  support,  moral  and  material,  of  the  press.  The 
papers  have  been  unstinted  in  their  support  of,  and  as- 
sistance to,  philanthropic,  humanitarian  and  religious 
movements.  This  was  made  manifest  in  a  most  striking 
manner  recently  during  the  several  campaigns  that  re- 
sulted in  the  raising  of  nearly  a  million  dollars  among 
our  people  for  educational  and  charitable  institutions. 
The  press  could  easily  have  held  aloof  or  given  only  mod- 
erate support.  Instead,  its  efforts  were  bent  to  the  suc- 
cess of  each  and  every  movement,  and  the  campaign  man- 
agers of  each  gave  the  press  the  heartiest  commendation 
for  invaluable  services  cheerfully  and  unstintedly  given. 

"Again,  in  its  treatment  of  the  news  of  the  day,  the 
press  of  the  city  does  not  over-accentuate,  as  a  rule,  the 
vices  and  crimes  to  the  exclusion  of  other  news.  Oppor- 
tunity is  frequent  to  make  a  spicy  paper,  gossipy,  scan- 
dal-mongering,  pandering  to  the  lowest  tastes  of  the  com- 
munity. But  to  the  credit  of  the  papers  be  it  said  that 
rare  indeed  is  the  instance  when  the  press  in  this  city 
stoops  to  such  low  and  degrading  influences.  Instead, 
the  press  stands  for  high  ideals  and  for  a  clean  code  of 
ethics  of  the  profession,  and  the  entire  community  is  the 
gainer  accordingly. ' ' 

Charles  S.  Weiser  is  the  editor  of  the  Allentown 
Democrat  and  the  Allentown  Evening  Item.  He  is  an 
old,  experienced  newspaperman,  scion  of  a  family  of 
newspapermen.  His  editorial  writings  in  both  of  these 
papers  are  widely  read.  His  daily  editorials  in  the  Item 
are,  with  rare  exceptions,  devoted  to  some  religious,  mor- 
al or  ethical  theme.  Concerning  the  influence  of  the  press 
he  says: 

^ '  Morally  and  religiously,  I  believe  the  newspaper  to 
be  the  greatest  force  of  the  twentieth  century.    I  firmly 


A  Study  in  Statistics  115 

believe  this  because  welfare  workers  and  clergymen  have 
repeatedly  told  me  the  same  thing.  Not  only  is  this  true 
of  the  great  metropolitan  journals,  but  of  the  so-called 
country-town  newspapers — at  least  those  that  are  fear- 
less enough  to  take  a  stand  for  the  right. 

''Only  a  few  minutes  before  I  began  writing  this  a 
well-known  clergyman,  in  giving  me  a  suggestion  for  an 
editorial  theme,  remarked  that  the  world  today  looks  to 
the  newspaper  for  much  of  its  moral  and  religious  teach- 
ing and  that  the  modern  editorial  is  more  like  a  sermon 
than  the  editorial  of  former  days.  'You  reach  a  class  of 
readers  that  the  church  and  the  church  papers  do  not 
reach,  and  you  are  paving  the  way  for  them  that  event- 
ually will  lead  them  into  the  church,'  he  said.  Unques- 
tionably, this  is  expert  testimony. 

"The  making  of  the  press  as  a  force  for  good  was 
not  the  result  of  revolution,  but  rather,  evolution.  The 
change  has  come  gradually,  but  steadily  until  today  the 
newspaper  is  regarded  as  a  teacher  of  morals  and  a 
preacher  of  religion,  and  the  editor  who  is  truthful  and 
right-purposed  and  noble-spirited,  cannot  fail  to  build 
up  character,  create  worth,  enlarge,  broaden  and  quick- 
en men  with  a  potency  unsurpassed  by  any  other  agency. 

"Whenever  I  think  of  the  sneers  with  which  news- 
papers and  editorial  opinions  were  received  before  tlie 
press  became  the  power  it  now  is,  I  am  reminded  of 
Christ's  parable  about  the  stone  which  the  builders  re- 
jected. 'And  whosoever  shall  fall  on  this  stone  shall  be 
broken;  but  on  whomsoever  it  shall  fall,  it  will  grind  him 
to  powder. '  ' ' 

Motion  pictures,  the  theater,  the  press.  These  are 
some  of  the  more  important  agencies  which  mould,  in- 
fiuence  and  suggest  the  standards  of  the  majority  in  this 
city.  There  are  other  currents  of  social  suggestion.  Tliis 
study  has  not  meant  to  be  exhaustive.  Reference  has 
simply  been  made  to  the  more  important  agencies  which 
disseminate  ideas  and  evoke  sentiments  which  shape  the 
inner  springs  of  conduct.  Without  a  doubt  these  agen- 
cies touch  the  lives  of  more  people  than  do  the  churches 
of  the  city.  They  touch  them  more  regularly,  and  in  more 
relaxed  moments.  It  is  this  fact  which  gives  them  the 
power  of  impressing  so  deeply.  These  agencies  may  not 
bo  hold  in  the  same  sacred  esteem  in  which  the  church 


116  The  Churches  of  Allentown 

is  held,  but  it  is  the  very  common-place  position  which 
the  press  and  the  movies  occupy  in  the  public  mind  which 
makes  it  possible  for  them  to  exert  such  a  large,  direct, 
even  if  unconscious,  influence. 

In  Allentown,  as  perhaps  everywhere,  people  make 
this  ridiculous  error.  They  make  the  same  kind  of  a 
classification  of  social  agencies  as  has  prevailed  for  such 
a  long  time  in  the  academic  world.  It  is  a  classification 
which  is  based  upon  the  idea  of  so  many  separate  and 
water-tight  compartments,  each  with  its  own  exclusive 
preserves.  Intellectual  leaders  for  a  long  time  have  been 
proceeding  upon  the  assumption  that  there  is  one  shelf 
which  holds  all  knowledge  of  biology,  another  shelf  for 
all  the  data  of  psychology,  another  for  the  facts  of  geol- 
ogy, and  woe  betide  the  meddlesome  heretic  who  would 
be  so  unorthodox  as  to  mix  them.  Much  of  the  criticism 
against  the  science  of  society  is  due  to  the  fact  that  its 
leaders  have  been  mixing  the  contents  of  these  compart- 
ments. Similarly  in  the  matter  under  discussion  here. 
Men  have  said,  and  acted  on  the  assumption,  that  the 
church  saves  souls  and  teaches  moral  standards ;  the  mo- 
tion picture  amuses  restless  women,  curious  children  and 
fatigued  men;  the  theater  is  a  place  to  waste  time  and 
money  in  a  search  for  recreation;  and  the  press  supplies 
the  organized  gossip  of  the  community.  The  church  has 
refused  to  recognize  or  affiliate  with  these  other  agencies, 
to  admit  their  function  and  their  influence.  Similarly, 
these  agencies-  have  failed  to  appreciate  properly  their 
tremendous  power  and  possibilities. 

If  all  of  these  forces — church,  press  and  theater — 
were  to  work  together,  what  could  they  not  accomplish? 
As  these  pages  are  being  written,  the  grave  crisis  which 
confronts  civilization  is  seeing  them  federated  for  cer- 
tain national  purposes.  May  it  not  be  hoped  that  in 
the  new  and  better  era  that  is  to  be,  such  a  federation 
may  be  effected  looking  towards  the  improvement  of 
society,  the  uplift  of  the  masses,  the  formation  of  Chris- 
tian character,  and  a  high  valuation  of  the  things  which 
are  supremely  worth  while. 

[The  End.] 


X 


YC  29855 


'>  9  1  ''^  "^ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


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